Juniors set for crisis without paying punters, says boss

THE indefinite lockdown of Scottish football is set to plunge the Junior game into a crisis like never before, according to Pollok manager Murdie MacKinnon.

The 41-year-old, in full agreement with Scottish FA chief Ian Maxwell’s edict for football to take a backseat amidst these unprecedented coronavirus times, believes heading into uncharted waters without an endgame plan in place is leaving clubs not knowing whether to stick or twist.

MacKinnon’s club Pollok go into the hat for the semi-finals of the Macron Scottish Junior Cup tomorrow, alongside Beith, Auchinleck Talbot/ Hurlford United and Broughty Athletic/Darvel. SJFA chiefs will get the draw under way at 1PM at Hampden, even though there remains a strong likelihood that football in Scotland still be on hold on April 18 and 25 – the dates set aside for the showpieces.

And the seasoned gaffer refused to rule out the prospect of the Junior Cup Final not being played for the first time since 1918, when Petershill were awarded the silverware. The Springburn outfit overcame St Mirren Juniors in the semis but the other duo – Parkhead and Renfrew – were disqualified for refusing to play their lastfour clash on the Wednesday before the final.

“No one knows what might happen in the coming couple of days, let alone next month,” MacKinnon, inset, said. “The whole Junior game is in a state of limbo until talks take place and binding decisions are made.

“A straightaway consideration is that just getting the outstanding quarter-final ties over and done with in April looks a no-no, so new dates may have to be drawn up – probably in early May.

“And I cannot help but feel this SFA-imposed suspension will continue over the coming months, so a shutdown for the rest of this season will undoubtedly be one of the options on the table. I’m sure there will be others too, such as putting all competitions on hold for the foreseeable future or until the virus situation improves.

“But therein lies a huge dilemma for clubs like ours, because how can we possibly meet our contractual obligations to our players when our main income stream from punters coming through the gates on match days is denied us? How do I, as team manager, prepare the guys and keep them ticking over, when totally unaware of if and when we will be playing again?

“It’s just not practical and I cannot help but think just about every club will be holding