For just one night, Burrows hopes everyone
The other 10 Premiership clubs will fall even further behind the Old Firm should Rangers find a way past PSV Eindhoven in the second leg of their Champions League play-off in Holland on Wednesday.
So Motherwell chief executive, Alan Burrows, believes everyone in the country should be hoping they progress to the group stage of the competition.
While the Ibrox outfit could join already-qualified Celtic by earning a minimum of £35-million from reaching the business end of club football’s mostlucrative tournament, such an outcome would guarantee their domestic rivals a bonus payment.
It might represent only 1.7% of what the Glasgow giants will collect, but a win for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side would have club accountants nationwide raising a glass to toast them.
Celtic qualified automatically by regaining the title last season, which has guaranteed the other 10 Premiership members a £400,000 solidarity payment from UEFA in September, 2023.
But that figure will increase by 50% if Rangers join them in the group stage.
“I actually contacted the European Clubs Association when Rangers reached the Europa League Final last season,” said Burrows.
“I wanted to ask them about bonuses because they would have won a Champions League place if they’d beaten Eintracht Frankfurt.
“None of the other Premiership clubs can ever budget for participating in the Champions League, but the UEFA handouts 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 that solidarity 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 it.
“Our annual turnover is between £4-5m, but for some clubs the payment could represent 20% of their turnover.”
Some fans can’t contemplate getting behind Rangers or Celtic, but Burrows believes that a win for the former in midweek would improve the economic health of the national sport.
“It’s easy to be partisan and tribal when it comes to these things, but you need to look at the big picture with your sensible hat on,” he said.
“This isn’t about being dependent on the Old Firm. The fact of the matter is that this is the world we live in, and 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
“They might now have to share that with Rangers. Even so, they should want them to progress.
“With ourselves and Dundee United already out of Europe, and Hearts a goal down to FC Zurich on Thursday, Rangers getting into the Champions League group stage would help improve our coefficient, 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 matchdays.
“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 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.”