If we needed to pay a bill Stewart was the man who would always help .. he never asked us for a favour or cash back NEW ERA AT PITTODRIE
DAVE CORMACK has revealed out-going Stewart Milne regularly had to put his own money into Aberdeen just so they could pay their bills.
The new chairman, who took over from Milne at Monday’s annual general meeting, believes his predecessor’s 21-year stint at the Pittodrie helm has led the Dons out of the wilderness and laid the springboard to take them into a new era.
The Red Army often criticised multi-millionaire business tycoon Milne for not putting his hand in his pocket.
But Cormack dismissed that myth and admitted if he hadn’t come to the fore the club would have struggled to get through some dark and desperate times.
He said: “People don’t realise before season ticket money came in (some years), when we needed to get money into the club, Stewart was the man who popped the money into the club and never asked for any favours around that or any of it back.
“I am thankful to Stewart for doing that. Stewart in a lot of ways is a private person and doesn’t like to blow his own trumpet.
“That is the way he goes about things. I didn’t ask for permission (to reveal this) because he’d have said no. I wanted to give a personal perspective on his time here.” Milne was part of the Pittodrie board who chased the dream with big-money signings such as Paul Bernard, Dean Windass and Robbie Winters in the mid 90s.
It was then a case of the boom and bust era as the Setanta TV deal went up in smoke and clubs were left with a mountain of debt. Some clubs turned to administration, liquidation and tearing up contracts but Aberdeen rode out the financial pain before Milne and his board led
the Dons to their current debt-free position and their new state-of-the-art Cormack Park training ground.
Cormack said: “All the way through he has stuck with it. I wouldn’t say we were 15 years in the wilderness but it took us a lot of time to get rid of the debt, which was probably costing us around £750,000 a year in interest – which is a lot of money that could have been used elsewhere.
“He is a very honourable guy who has done his best and will continue to do his best.”
The new Pittodrie chief also knows it would have been easier for Milne to walk away but he refused to do that.
Cormack said: “He could have walked away and handed it over to someone else but he didn’t because he has integrity.
“We went through that period when we thought the television deal was going to be way more than it was and it wasn’t. He stuck by it and I am in a privileged position to know what he has put in not just as the Stewart Milne Group but also personally.
“We should be thankful to Stewart for that. History will look kindly on Stewart as we go through the next 50, 100 or 200 years and we look back at his spell at the club.”
Milne has put the foundations in place and now Cormack has been charged with delivering the new stadium at Kingsford.
The 60-year-old, who insists he’ll do things his own way, has already brought in significant investment from America and set up a partnership with MLS side Atlanta United.
Cormack added: “I am not Stewart. “I am a different personality but we are like each other in a lot of ways.
“Stewart and I have been on the same page going forward. He has allowed me for the last three years to drive the ship, review the business practices and everything else.
“We’ve put changes in place which we feel will help us. We have increased the commercial activity in the last two-and-a-half years by 23 per cent. It is not reliant on how the team plays and that is significant.
“I don’t feel pressure to fill Stewart’s shoes. We have other challenges ahead of us which is to be relevant in Europe and punching above our weight and we need to get the stadium built.”
He could have walked away but he didn’t because he has integrity
DAVE CORMACK ON FORMER CHAIRMAN STEWART MILNE