Dods says Brechin’s future will be tough

Ex-boss thinks clubs like Kelty threaten City’s shot at players – and SPFL spot

If Ann Budge persuades enough of the Scottish football family to get the box out of the loft again this week, the game of snakes and ladders isn’t yet over.

But whatever the outcome of the next batchofSPFLZoommeetings,wealready have a winner. In fact, we had a winner some time ago.

It’s not Celtic with their ninth Premiership title, asterisk or no asterisk. And it’s not Cove Rangers, Raith Rovers or Dundee United either.

Brechin City got to the top square first and fastest. The moment it became clear they weren’t going to drop out of the leagues, the counters could be picked up and the board snapped shut.

The club faced with the gravest peril has secured the biggest success.

There will be no trapdoor from League 2 and Mark Wilson’s side – the furthest adrift from safety of any in the four leagues – were spared a high-stakes playoff against Kelty Hearts or Brora Rangers.

SomepointedtoBrechinchairmanKen Ferguson’s position on the SPFL board.

Others, myself included, believe it to be pure, old-fashioned good fortune – if you can use such a phrase in the middle of a pandemic that threatens the future of every part-time club in the country and a few full-time ones as well.

The day will eventually come when a new season begins in the bottom tier, however. Even if that day is over a year away.

And at that point, despite their reprieve, the Glebe Park club may find that the dice start landing them on snakes rather than ladders.

Circumstances may have conspired in the club’s favour over the last couple of months but, according to a former manager, they are conspiring to their detriment if you look at the bigger picture in lower league Scottish football.

Money and geography are the friends of others.

“It’s getting harder and harder for clubs like Brechin,” Darren Dods told Courier Sport.

“There are more teams in the Central Belt, not even in the SPFL, who can now pay the same sort of money as them in wages. Kelty are the obvious ones but there’s the likes of Bonnyrigg Rose who can pay players £150 a week as well.

“Boys will choose to play for clubs on their doorstep for more money than make a long trip to train and play for even a League 1 club. The fact that Brechin are higher up the pyramid won’t make a difference with most of these players because it’s not their full-time job.

“It’s a financial thing as much as anything.

“And with Cove Rangers, Elgin City and Peterhead in the league set-up, you don’t get players coming down from the Aberdeen area as much as you did in years gone by. Aberdeen use Cove’s pitch for reserve games so that’s an obvious advantage for them.

“You don’t seem to see the same number of players loaned from Dundee United and Dundee either.

“Towards the end of my time at Forfar and at the start at Brechin, you were getting more boys coming from the two Dundee clubs than you are now.

“TheAngusclubshavealwaysdonewell through that historically. You just have to thinkaboutthelikesofJohnnyRusselland Scott Allan and when you’re talking about the Angus area, the Souttar brothers, Ryan Gauld and Scott McKenna have come through – but I don’t think there have been many since.”

With the crash-and-burn exception of Gretna, go through the clubs who have been admitted to the SPFL in the last couple of decades, either by invitation or through the pyramid play-off, and you won’t find one which has failed to prosper.

Ross County, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Peterhead, Elgin City, Edinburgh City and Cove Rangers have all put down roots.

History doesn’t keep ambition at bay. “Kelty will still have money even if they’re not coming up this year,” said Dods.

“If they eventually get promoted, they’ll be like a Cove who will push up the way.

“A Highland League team might do the same.

“Aseveryyeargoesbyandmoreofthese teams with money behind them come in, the harder it will get for clubs with smaller budgets. They’ll feel the squeeze.”

It’s all ifs and buts now but how would Dods have expected his old club to fare in a play-off to save their SPFL status?

He said: “I saw Kelty play a couple of times and it would have been hard for BrechinifKeltyhadbeatenBrora.They’ve got a lot of good players – boys like Nathan Austin.

“Brechin would have picked up some