‘CHEER ON RANGERS’
Burrows insists Scottish football should get behind Ibrox side
MOTHERWELL chief executive Alan Burrows admits that he usually couldn’t care less how Rangers get on unless they’re playing the Lanarkshire side, but he admits that he’ll be loudly backing them from his living room when they take on PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday – and he argues that every other Premiership club should also get behind the Ibrox side.
While the Scottish Cup holders could pocket £35m by prevailing in the second leg of their Champions League play-off, their domestic rivals will also be in the money and the resulting windfall could help keep some of them afloat.
Rangers earned a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Ibrox on Tuesday but a win in the Netherlands will have other clubs’ directors raising a glass, with UEFA adding 21 per cent extra this year to their fund for top-tier clubs from the nations competing in the richest tournament of them all. Celtic qualified automatically by winning the Scottish title last season and that has guaranteed the other 10 Premiership members a £400,000 solidarity payment from UEFA in September 2023, but that will rise by 50 per cent if Rangers can also make it to the group stage.
“I actually contacted the European Clubs Association when Rangers reached the Europa League final last season to ask them about this because they would have won a Champions League place if they’d beaten Eintracht Frankfurt,” said Burrows.
“None of the other Premiership clubs can ever budget for participating in the Champions League but the UEFA hand-outs to the rest of the league will make a huge difference, particularly in the current climate. Running costs are rising daily so there’s never been a better reason for everyone to support the Scottish clubs in Europe.
“This is the first time since 2017, when Brendan Rodgers was in charge of Celtic, that we’ve had one club – never mind two – in the group stage and t hat s olidar i t y payment will be welcomed when it comes.
“If Rangers can make it then that £ 600,000 will make a big difference to everyone who receives sit
– our annual turnover is between £4-5m but for
* some clubs that sum will represent 20 per cent of their turnover.”
Supporters used to jeering the Glasgow giants might f i nd it awkward to support Rangers or Celtic but Burrows (left) believes that a win for Rangers would undoubtedly benefit the Scottish game. “It’s easy to be partisan and tribal when it comes to t hese t hings but you need to look at the big picture with your sensible hat on,” he stressed. “This i s n’ t about bei ng
dependent on the Old Firm. The fact of the matter is that this is the world we live in and the clubs need that money. That’s why everyone bar Celtic has skin in Wednesday’s match.
“Celtic would actually lose money in the short term if Rangers qualified because them dropping into the Europa League would hand Celtic a big financial advantage as well as gifting them Scotland’s slice of UEFA’s TV money, which they might now have to share with Rangers.
“Even so, they should want them to progress because, with ourselves and Dundee United already out of Europe and Hearts losing to FC Zurich on Thursday, Rangers joining would help improve our co- efficient and give them a better chance of automatically going into the group phase in the years to come.
“For everyone else, it’s a helping hand at a time when costs are soaring, particularly on match days. Rising gas and electricity prices have made things you might take for granted – floodlights, food kiosks, stadium lighting, energy and staffing levels – far more expensive.
“There are huge pressures on us at the moment: we’re being squeezed from every side and any additional income would be welcome.
“At a time when clubs are due to have their annual audit, it would be great to be able to say in that report that there will be £ 600,000 definitely arriving in the bank in 12 months’ time.
“For some clubs, that might be enough to prevent the ‘ going concern’ notice being added by auditors to their forecast.”