Queens not wanted in Premiership, says Dowie

QUEEN of the South defender Andy Dowie last night claimed Premiership chairmen do not want the Palmerston club to pip Rangers and Hibernian to promotion.

The Dumfries side host the Ibrox club in the first leg of the Premiership play-off quarter-final tomorrow night, with the winners meeting Hibs in the semi-final.

The Doonhamers have already beaten both teams this season, raising their hopes of consigning two clubs with large travelling supports to a second season in the Championship.

That prospect is a commercial nightmare for Premiership chairmen — and Dowie believes Queen of the South would be a largely unwelcome addition to the top flight.

‘I can understand why,’ said the former Rangers player. ‘Chairmen want Hibs, Hearts and Rangers away supports to fill their ground. They don’t want Queen of the South coming.

‘But we’re not interested in what they want or what they think is best for Scottish football.

‘At the end of the day, the best team

in the play-offs will go up. ‘It would be amazing for the town and the people of Dumfries if we went up.’ Average attendances at Palmerston are 2,500 — substantially below the numbers Rangers or Hibs could hope to deliver. Speaking after signing a new one-year contract, however, Dowie defended the Championship club, adding: ‘I wouldn’t say our home attendances would be any less than Hamilton. The two clubs are probably similar in size. ‘We can’t really talk about the Premiership too much yet because it’s a long way away just now. We will wait and see what happens.’ Queen of the South striker Gavin Reilly believes Rangers have a mental block about Palmerston’s artificial pitch after losing 2-0 and 3-0 there already this season. But Dowie cautioned: ‘We’re confident going into the Rangers game, but we won’t think too much about the previous two matches. I don’t think that will have much bearing. ‘We will just concentrate on putting in a good performance. Hopefully, that will be enough.’