MacGregor has desire to keep the game in Gretna

Published on Tuesday 3 June 2008 10:22

GRETNA chairman Ron MacGregor is hoping to maintain some sort of football presence in the town as the end of the road for the Borders club grows ever closer.

Yesterday, administrator David Elliot claimed Gretna's demise was a "formality" after their Raydale Park ground was put up for sale.

Elliot opened the sale of the stadium and land to non-football purchasers after a rescue package fell through following the club's demotion to the Irn-Bru Third Division on Thursday.

Elliot, of Wilson Field, claimed he expected the Scottish Football League to expel the club after he could offer no guarantees they will complete their fixtures next season.

He said: "They still are in the Third Division of the SFL but that is going to change within days, just as soon as the formalities are completed.

"I'm not thinking of formally putting it into liquidation because there may be some tax reasons for actually selling the ground in administration.

"But in effect there will be no trading. That's it."

SFL chief executive David Longmuir urged the administrators to use the "course of action with the most integrity" and resign the club from the SFL.

Regardless of how Gretna meet their inevitable fate, MacGregor is hoping a football club of some sort will rise from the ashes – and insists it should still play in Scotland.

He said: "We have had a very good football club in Gretna for 60 years or so. It would be a shame if that didn't continue.

"When we came into the SFL it was cross-border from the Unibond League. I think to go back that way would be very difficult.

"We would be looking at the senior leagues in Scotland."

And Anton Hodge, secretary of the Gretna Supporters' Society action group, backed MacGregor's call for a fresh start. He said: "We are now looking into how we can form a new club in Gretna.

"We have spoken about that as a group and done a little bit of research.

"We intend to talk to other clubs who have been in this position and will hold a public meeting in the next few weeks.

"We are working with Ron MacGregor and Helen MacGregor and other people who have been involved in the club for a while and hold a link to the past.

"We will only do it if the community is prepared to help out but we have had meetings recently and we think the appetite is there.

"I think we just want to get on and move forward, while learning the lessons from the past.

"The biggest lesson is any football club has to be sustainable and Gretna, or a new Gretna, has to play at its right level.

"We have seen what happens when a benefactor, who has done a lot of good, pulls out for whatever reason, and leaves the club in a mess."

Spartans are the favourites to take over Gretna's position in the Third Division if, as expected the Dumfries & Galloway club are expelled. Other contenders to join Scottish football's senior ranks include Annan Athletic, Preston Athletic and Highland League side Cove Rangers.

A decision on the fate of Gretna is expected within a matter of days, after which clubs will be invited to apply for application to the football league.