Yorkston warns against wishing away the Old Firm

Published on Tuesday 21 April 2009 23:32

SCOTTISH football would be more competitive without the Old Firm, Dunfermline Athletic chairman John Yorkston said yesterday, but it might also face more severe financial problems.

Yorkston, whose team play Falkirk in the Homecoming Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday, believes that even the possibility of Rangers and Celtic moving south will hamper attempts to attract sponsors. The proposed move revealed this week would be unlikely to happen for several years, but he thinks that time scale still has a deterrent effect on would-be investors.

"It would certainly be a very competitive league, as anyone would have a chance of winning it," Yorkston began when asked how domestic football might change in the absence of its two biggest clubs. "And if you are in a competitive situation, crowds would go up.

"On the other hand, sponsorship from TV, et cetera, would probably go down, so it would be a balancing act.

"The big problem is that some of the clubs want these four games against the Old Firm. If they weren't there, then playing each other twice a season may be more acceptable. I would see a division of 16 or 18 clubs."

Asked which he preferred, he joked: "It depends on what position we finish in the league – and at the moment it's 18."

Yorkston was speaking as his own club announced a continuation of their shirt sponsorship agreement with the Purvis Group, a Lochgelly-based construction company. While individual deals like that might still be attractive without the Old Firm, he argued that agreements between the league as a whole and possible sponsors would become more difficult.

"It doesn't do any major sponsorship deal any good for the SPL or Scottish football when you don't know if the two major components are going to be part of it.

"We had this problem when we were in the SPL. Folk are wanting four-year or five-year sponsorship deals.

"Setanta and Sky were wanting deals for that length of time. They have to know who will be in it, because obviously if the Old Firm weren't in it, it would affect the value of the contract.

"I'm not sure the English clubs – having spoken to a number of them in the past – have the appetite, especially among the top clubs, to have them (the Old Firm]. Clubs such as Aston Villa and Everton are pushing for European places and would they want those two in there competing with them?

"Would the teams at the bottom want extra competition? Would the teams who are maybe now safe want to face another two being relegated?"

Dunfermline have struggled in the First Division this season, but their cup run has already improved their finances, and will do so even more should they win the Hampden match and get to the final against St Mirren or Rangers. "It's very important financially," Yorkston said.

"When you get to a semi-final it's worth a six-figure sum, and if you get to the final it's probably an additional 500,000. It's important when you are running on a budget of 1.5million, an extra 500,000 coming in is more than welcome.

Manager Jim McIntyre would obviously welcome any funds he was offered to strengthen his squad, but his main concern right now is the club's injury list.

Defender Greg Shields was carried off during last weekend's 3-1 win over Ross County and will probably miss the rest of the season. Scott Muirhead has been ruled out of the semi-final too, striker Jamie Mole – on loan from Hearts – and defender Scott Wilson are rated 50-50, and the manager also has to contend with other, longer-term absentees such as Kevin Harper.

McIntyre leaves penalties up to players

AN AUDACIOUS penalty by Jim McIntyre got Dunfermline through to their last Scottish Cup final, and the goalscorer, now the club's player/manager, would happily see victory against Falkirk in Sunday's semi-final come about in the same way.

Some managers would be furious at anything so cheeky as the dink with which McIntyre beat Andy McNeil of Hibernian in the 2007 semi, and demand that their players put safety first. McIntyre, however, said he would admire anyone who had the guts to do something similar to what he did.

"I've been asked that a few times and my answer is always the same – it's entirely up to them," he said yesterday when questioned whether he would tolerate his players acting in the same fashion as he did. "They need to take a penalty the way they think they will score. It's not a manager's call to tell his players how to take a penalty.

"The way I see it, if someone steps up to take a penalty they have already shown the bravery required. It's about having that conviction and a wee bit of luck as well. For my own penalty my thoughts were just to score. I knew what I was doing and it was just a matter of making sure I got enough elevation on the ball. I was confident the keeper would pick a side."

McIntyre's penalty came three minutes from time, and put the Pars through to a final against Celtic. Dunfermline lost that match, but McIntyre is pleased by the self-confidence they have shown in this season's competition, and hopes it can take them into another final – and possibly help them end up as winners.

"The boys have shown this year that they have no fear when it comes to cup competitions. Hopefully they continue that in the semi-final," he added.