MONEY DRAIN

‘Only Celtic’ not at risk of financial meltdown

CELTIC are the only Scottish club not considered ‘at risk’ from football’s crippling coronavirus shutdown, according to a leading finance expert.

And Ken Pattullo believes only more backing from Ibrox directors will sustain Rangers during the crisis.

Pattullo, the author of the Begbies Traynor annual Football Distress Report, says even supposedly solid teams in Scotland’s top flight are being put under unprecedented strain by the suspension of football.

Warning that playing behind closed doors is no answer in a league reliant on gate income, he says ‘insolvency’ is now ‘inevitable’ for a number of clubs.

‘Every club is at risk to an extent, with the exception of Celtic,’ Pattullo told

Sportsmail. ‘Rangers say they have very wealthy backers. They will have to be reliant on those

backers more so than ever. Premiership clubs could well be at risk. The only one you would say is at absolutely no risk at all is Celtic, because they’ve got so much money in the bank. ‘Any club with wealthy backers or other sources of income should be okay. But other clubs are going to face real difficulties. ‘It’s the mid-size clubs without wealthy backers or lucrative television or sponsorship deals that are in the most perilous position. ‘Unfortunately, the double whammy of significant wage bills and sizeable fan bases that make them heavily reliant on match-day gate receipts could prove fatal in this unprecedented situation. ‘While I don’t believe we are looking at a doomsday scenario and most Scottish clubs will survive, I’m afraid that some insolvencies are probably inevitable among the hardest hit clubs.’ Rangers interim chairman Douglas Park said last weekend that the oft-quoted ‘£10million funding gap’ at Ibrox had been ‘filled by existing investors’ — and that more investments were likely to be announced soon. With the prospect of even closed-doors matches some way off as Scotland lags behind England on the lockdown curve,

Pattullo fears that some teams will simply run out of cash before a ball is kicked. ‘I only hesitate slightly because too much is unknown at the moment,’ he said. ‘We won’t know when and how the game will be back. It’s looking increasingly like it will be closed-door games for some time. And so many of our teams are so reliant on ticket sales and hospitality. ‘It’s very much the case that closed-door games are not ideal for our clubs. ‘You are having to pay players. So you are paying out with less income coming in. In some ways, it’s the worst of both worlds. ‘The doomsday scenario is playing on well into next year behind closed doors. ‘Yes, you could play some sort of football. But how do you afford that without crowds?’ Pattullo believes that Scotland’s smallest clubs might actually be best placed to cope with an extended shutdown. But, in a warning that may set alarm bells ringing among Hearts fans, he said: ‘The clubs most at risk are likely to be those in the Championship with aspirations to get back into the Premiership. ‘Because they have high cost bases but aren’t bringing in Premiership income. ‘Some clarity from the Scottish Government would be helpful. Our clubs seem to be nowhere near having a road map towards the resumption of any form.’