We risk losing the manager if we don’t deliver on our new stadium
ABERDEEN chairman Stewart Milne last night issued a stark warning that Derek McInnes could leave Pittodrie if the club fails in its ambitious bid to build a new £50million stadium and training complex at Kingsford.
The Dons boss rejected a lucrative move to Sunderland in the summer in favour of an extended deal with his current club because of unfinished business at Aberdeen.
And Milne is convinced the prospect of a dedicated training ground and a new 20,000-seater stadium on the outskirts of the city were a major influence in McInnes opting to remain in the north east.
However, the property tycoon is worried that a failure to deliver the stadium plans after 18 years of trying will make Aberdeen vulnerable to McInnes heading for the exit door if another big club comes calling.
In October, Aberdeen city council will vote whether or not to grant planning permission for the Kingsford site. And Milne warned: ‘I would go as far as saying that, if we had a negative decision on these plans earlier in the year, it would have been extremely difficult to convince Derek to stay at the club.
‘I think if it doesn’t go through now, then it would put Derek in a tough position as it would definitely weigh heavily if he is offered new propositions in the future.
‘It would really go against our arguments for keeping him here long-term if we don’t deliver this project.
‘After all, we have spent the best part of 18 years to get to this point, so what can I say to him if this is rejected?
‘Tell him we’ll get another thing in place in the next four, five, six or seven years because we simply don’t know.
‘There are simply no other options and, if it is a negative, then the consequences are very severe.’
Milne also reiterated a previous warning that Aberdeen face playing future European ties in Glasgow or Edinburgh if their stadium plans fail because Pittodrie won’t meet UEFA requirements.
‘The consequences of a negative decision on this will have massive bearings on the future of this club,’ he said.
‘At some point, we will no longer get dispensation to play European games here. Our options are to play in Glasgow or Edinburgh. What sort of statement would that send out? What would our fans think?’
If Aberdeen do get the go-ahead in October, they hope to have the training ground up and running by the start of next season and the stadium built by the summer of 2020.
And McInnes is desperate for new, state-of-the-art training facilities after declaring his side’s current set-up as among the worst in the top flight.
Last season, his side came second in all three major competitions to Treble-winning Celtic, but he revealed his frustration at losing out to a local high school female lacrosse side.
Speaking at the launch of a campaign to increase support for the new stadium initiative, McInnes said: ‘In February, when we went to Ross County for a Scottish Cup game, the weather was bad and we booked the Sports Village. The problem was that it was double-booked with the Hazlehead Academy women’s lacrosse team. They wanted two-thirds of the pitch and we couldn’t do the work that needed done.
‘We are professional in everything we do. Yet the players are getting shunted down to the bottom third of a pitch at the Sports Village to try to fine-tune our work.
‘We got to the final of the Scottish Cup, but that was part of our preparations for one of our games. It is embarrassing.
‘In terms of performance, we have been second in the league in recent years and we have been to three cup finals in four years.
‘But we are down at the very bottom of the Scottish Premiership in terms of facilities. Hibs, Hearts, Celtic and Rangers and the others that we are competing against have an advantage on us every day of the week.
‘We are managing to keep our heads above water and compete, but it is unsustainable. The clubs that are investing in new facilities and stadiums will get away from us if we don’t act now.
‘At the moment, youth teams from other clubs are training on better facilities than my first team.
‘We are elite at everything we do except the facilities — and it has to change.’