Hibs fans want Farmer to help get rid of Rod
Kane claims the ball is now in Sir Tom’s court Dempster says view of support too ‘simplistic’
FORMER Hibs midfielder Paul Kane has revealed the ‘Petrie Out’ campaign group will ask club owner Sir Tom Farmer to remove chairman Rod Petrie.
As new chief executive Leeann Dempster met with supporters’ group Working Together inside Easter Road stadium yesterday morning, Kane and fellow former players addressed a gathering of around 1,500 fans, who attended the rally outside the ground.
Kane is leading a movement to oust the long-serving Petrie in the wake of Hibs’ relegation to the Championship.
They blame the chairman, who has so far refused to step down, for the deep-rooted malaise engulfing the club and its fans.
After those who attended the gathering outside the stadium apparently gave their unanimous backing — with a show of hands — for Petrie’s removal, Kane was also given a mandate by the fans to move onto phase two of the campaign, which involves meeting former Kwik-Fit tycoon Farmer.
‘I think Leeann Dempster will have a major decision now because, if you look at the size of the crowd and the support, if she is telling us she has the autonomy to make decisions for the betterment of Hibernian Football Club, she should tell Rod Petrie to go,’ said Kane.
‘If he doesn’t go, we will have to see what the reaction is from the fans; stage two is go into dialogue with the club to see what they want to do with that kind of fan base. We will ask the owner, Sir Tom Farmer, for a meeting to see what he wants to do with the support here today.’
Asked if the supporters could buy Petrie’s removal (the chairman has a 10-per-cent stake in the club), Kane replied: ‘I think the question that has to be asked is, what does Sir Tom Farmer want to do with his majority shareholding?
‘Does he want to do a John Boyle (former Motherwell chairman) and pass it to the fans?
‘If that’s the case, we’ll get involved and we’ll do our best for the club. If he wants to do it another way, then we’ll also try to help him. The ball is in his court and it’s up to him.’
Kane addressed fans from the back of an open lorry trailer and was joined on the makeshift stage by former players Pat Stanton, Jackie McNamara senior, Mickey Weir and Mike McDonald, who all gave rousing speeches.
Hibs legend Jimmy O’Rourke was also in attendance while Kenny McLean junior — son of the former vice-chairman of the same name, who spearheaded the Hands Off Hibs campaign — also spoke to the supporters.
Dempster was left in no doubt about the strength of feeling from the fans, following a meeting with the Working Together group.
On exiting the stadium following the summit with the new club chief executive, Mike Riley — chairman of the Hibs Supporters Association — said: ‘There were 31 people at the meeting and it was made very clear that her job could be easier — and she could have a lot more money to spend on quality players — if Rod Petrie leaves the club.
‘There are 5-6,000 supporters waiting to buy their season books, but only if Petrie quits.’
However, even though Dempster claims she has full autonomy to make decisions without interference from Petrie, in this case she admits she does not have sole power to drive the chairman out.
‘How can a chief executive remove a chairman?’ said Dempster. ‘There is a process and a board of directors. It brings a very simplistic perspective and I don’t mean that to be in a derisory way. There is a lack of understanding over how a board operates.
‘I understand (the fans’) position but I said to everyone that we need to get on with football business.
‘The answer I gave today is that this one-tick item is too simplistic a viewpoint. There is a bigger dynamic within the club and, if we strangle ourselves with that and nothing else, we won’t move forward.
‘I said to them: “You can continue to have your position and can continue your campaign but I am going to start focusing on football because we need to now do that”.’
Club icon Stanton — an official Hibs ambassador — addressed the fans at the rally and admitted he cannot fathom how city rivals Hearts showed more fight than the Leith outfit last season, despite being in administration turmoil.
The 69-year-old is adamant that Petrie has to share the blame for Hibs’ failure on the pitch.
‘Hearts showed more passion than us last season,’ said Stanton. ‘Despite all their misfortune, they showed some guts.
‘The minute things started to go wrong here, there was no commitment and nobody there to say: “Come on, we need to turn this round”.
‘It’s a general malaise.’