BONUS POINT
McGhee: I was hit in pocket by Ibrox EBTs
MARK McGHEE last night took a mischievous potshot at the use of Rangers EBTs, claiming he feels hard done by over the loss of a bonus for finishing second in the Premiership in 2008.
Three Court of Session judges recently decided the Ibrox oldco used EBTs to make payments to players they might otherwise have been unable to afford. The ruling sparked furious demands from opposition fans for the oldco to be stripped of championships won during the years the EBT scheme was in operation.
One of those was 2008 when, during McGhee’s first spell in charge, Motherwell finished third behind Rangers and that season’s champions Celtic.
Currently embroiled in a battle for survival in his second spell as manager at Fir Park, the Scotland No2 said yesterday: ‘When I was here first time
around we finished third — and we probably should have been second, given what we’ve learned since about Rangers and their methods. ‘I feel as though we might have finished second, never mind third. ‘But now the rest of us are trying to stay up. That’s what we’re here for.’ Pressed on whether he believes the use of EBTs to avoid paying full tax on loans to Rangers players should see Motherwell retrospectively awarded second place, McGhee added: ‘At the end of the day, it’s straightforward. We get bonuses and I get a better bonus in my contract for finishing second than I do for finishing third. ‘That season I only got the bonus for finishing third and I feel hard done by. ‘But I also wish that Rangers were back in the league and that we were playing them on Saturday. ‘I don’t have any problems with them. I’m only being a wee bit facetious.’ In the season to which McGhee refers, Celtic finished top with 89 points, Rangers had 86 and Motherwell 60, with Aberdeen a further seven points behind in fourth. Motherwell were also plunged into turmoil with huge debts in April 2002 when former owner John Boyle called in administrators and 19 players were laid off. Asked if the Fir Park club would love to have continued spending on players they might otherwise have been unable to afford — when Rangers stand accused of doing the same — McGhee added: ‘I think we’d all love to have done that. ‘I’d love to do that now, but it’s not the way we can work.’