Ex-footie star is Saints’ new money man

A young banker landed one of Scottish football’s top commercial jobs.

Neil Bennett, 29, a former Queen’s Park player, succeeded Richard Kernick as St Mirren’s commercial manager, we reported in September 1979.

Mr Bennett was to supervise the Paisley side’s lucrative cash operations.

Together with assistants Jack Copland and Dave Ferguson, he planned to further boost Saints’moneymaking schemes.

With three flourishing lotteries and a highly successful town-centre shop, the Paisley revenue was ploughed into major ground developments at Love Street.

Mr Bennett beat a large number of Scottish applicants to take over from Mr Kenrick, now Hearts’commercial manager.

And his banking and football background made him the Paisley directors’ideal choice for the key Love Street post.

Before taking up the position, Mr Bennett was assistant manager at the Glasgow branch of Bank of Credit and Commerce International and supervisor with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

He looked on his new job as a challenge because, like the Bank of Credit and Commerce work, it would enable him to try to attract new business and promote the club.

Mr Bennett added that the lottery had grown very quickly from virtually nothing, and it needed a good deal of supervision, which he banking background would enable him to give it.

Saints’new‘Mr Money’was impressed by the way the club had made him feel welcome “from the directors to the tea ladies and ground staff”.