Chipper can win battle
Brian Rice has dug himself out of a far deeper and darker hole before than the one he currently finds himself in.
But he is man enough to acknowledge that, despite everyone around him backing him to the hilt again, he has to do it under his own steam this time for it to mean anything.
Chipper – a brilliant guy for whom you won’t hear a negative word in the game – has rightly been given succour for his public declaration of a crippling gambling addiction.
He looked a tormented soul surrounded by cameras after his SFA hearing and 10-match ban last week.
But he accepted his punishment in the right fashion, admitting his failings rather than blaming the authorities for their rules or the bookies for existing.
I’ve spoken plenty of times about our game’s relationship with gambling money – its three main competitions and two biggest clubs shove five different firms down our throats, while you walk in the door of Hampden under a 20-foot William Hill sign to be told that betting is bad.
It’s a problem of financial reliance and synergy that now feels inextricable – but all the more reason why it can’t be allowed to change the SFA’s zero tolerance stance from members.
They did what they had to do with the Hamilton boss and shouldn’t be blamed for it. They offered professional help through their Support Within Sport programme run out of the Hampden Clinic
– but Colin McGowan insists Hamilton will provide for him, which is their, and his, choice.
All the rest of us can do is wish him the best.