Final clubs are eyeing cash boost
will bank the biggest cheque in the history of the tournament as well as being the first Scottish team outwith Celtic to lift a major trophy since 2016.
Livi chief executive John Ward expects the cost of Covid to hit his club to the tune of £1.7million but says the players who gave up chunks of their bonuses to help them will be the first beneficiaries should they triumph tomorrow.
He said: “When we started this season off we never had a proper bonus system in place because we never knew how it was going to transpire.
“The players have been brilliant with that.
“If we win, a chunk of the prize money will rightly go to the players’ bonus pot and the rest towards paying the bills.”
Livi lifted the trophy in 2004, weeks after plunging into administration, and have since gone through a second administration after financial turmoil in 2009 led to the club falling to the bottom division.
Ward said: “In reality this is Livingston’s first major opportunity as a community club.
“Being in administration twice tells you that in the past they have had a whole series of investors who maybe weren’t in it for the right reasons.
“We are going into this final as a community club, working on an impaired budget with reductions on income and prize money from last year.”
St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown admitted he was braced for a serious hit from Covid after posting a modest £20,000 loss for the year end to May 2020.
He said: “Given the economical challenges we have all faced, it will be a welcome boost to receive such a windfall.
“But we all look forward to getting our supporters back. To get them back will be the biggest boost.”
JOHN KENNEDY reckons shattered Neil Lennon will be feeling a sense of relief after the lights went out on his Celtic reign.
The stand-in boss watched the Hoops hero work tirelessly to halt their slide this season only to go after last Sunday’s defeat by Ross County.
Kennedy said: “Neil’s been great. He decided the time was right.
“He probably got to the point where the light wasn’t there for him any more.
“Neil gave everything he could, he worked all the hours under the sun.
“It was all focused to bring the team success – and he’s had great success as a manager and a player.
“We wanted that this year but it didn’t materialise and he’s the first guy to hold his hand up to that. But we share that responsibility as players, backroom staff and management team.
“Will he be relieved? Probably, in a way. Without thinking that beforehand.
“He’s had a helluva lot of criticism this year and has had to stand out there every matchday. He’s had to attend every press conference and answer all the difficult questions.
“There have been a number of challenges this year with different things and Neil as the manager has dealt with it all.
“He’s a strong guy, a strong character and has shown very good leadership behind the scenes dealing with all this and staying calm.
“For anyone, it must be exhausting – but Neil never showed that. He came in with an attitude to try to improve and turn the corner, so credit to him for that.
“But probably when he sits back now, as much as he would love to be in a better position and still be here driving it forward again, he’s been through an exhausting time.”