McINALLY: I DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT ANN
PETERHEAD manager Jim McInally insists he did not intend to “hurt” Ann Budge following the high-profile spat between the pair.
However, he is adamant his criticism of the Hearts owner’s forceful approach to reconstruction was right.
The SPFL’s longestserving boss waded into the row over the structure of the leagues last week when he accused Budge of trying to “bully” his side further down the pyramid.
She is attempting a revamp which would salvage Hearts’ Premiership status, with initial conversations surrounding three tiers of 14.
While that looks unlikely to pass the appetite for some form of change is expected to be gauged among all clubs by Friday.
In an interview released on Hearts’ website last Friday, Budge described McInally’s forthright assessment as “personal” and “extreme”.
But McInally said: “I’m not pleased I’ve hurt her personally. I don’t know her and I’m sure she’s far from being a bully.
“She threatened her players if they didn’t take a 50 per cent cut [due to the shutdown] and she’s threatened two or three
BY ROSS PILCHER times about speaking to QCs [regarding relegation].
“Even in her letter last week where she said the ‘Premiership needs Hearts more than the Championship, and the Championship needs Partick more than League One’.
“That’s not being united, there’s a division there in what she’s saying.
“But I didn’t want to call her a bully, I just felt by her actions she was being pretty forceful in what she was doing. I’ve not changed my opinion on that.”
Meanwhile, former Ajax, Porto and West Ham striker Benni McCarthy is planning on applying for the Hearts job again if it becomes available.
The South African, who lives in Edinburgh, claimed he’d made it to the final three last year before Budge appointed Daniel Stendel.
The German’s future at Tynecastle remains in the balance due to a relegation break clause in his contract.
McCarthy told reporters in his homeland: “We’re monitoring the situation to see if the guy that took over – the German – is going to stay.
“It’s a club that’s just down the road from where I live so it would be ideal for me.”
TONY WATT has become a whizz at playing football on the PlayStation but the time out also helped him rekindle his love for the real thing.
The 26-year-old has been behind closed doors for months like everyone else but he’s delighted to be staying at home after penning a new one-year deal at Fir Park.
Watt is ready to settle down after a career that’s taken him to 12 clubs in five countries, starting as a kid at Airdrie, becoming a Celtic hero by beating Barcelona, before spells in Belgium, England, Bulgaria and now back in Scotland.
The Motherwell frontman has packed in some unbelievable highs and some devastating lows, from the winner against Messi and Co, to suffering serious injury when it seemed he was on the verge of kicking on.
Watt admitted there were times when he was scunnered but he’s got his mojo back at Well.
He said: “Lockdown has showed me, but even before that, I do love football. There have been times where I have maybe missed that.
“I do love it. I just want to play as much as possible in the next few years and see where that takes me. “I am still 26. I have moved about, whether that has been to do with injury or there has been a transfer embargo there. Now I just want to stay put and stabilise. “But were there were times when I didn’t love football? Absolutely. There was a wee period after my injury when I didn’t deal with it well. “I had never been injured before and I didn’t handle it. I lost some love of the