|
12.30pm
Not surprisingly, there's been loads of reaction in the press to
the decision by the SFA to reject Falkirk's appeal against being denied
promotion to the SPL. Have we heard the end of it at long last?
Falkirk say they are consulting their legal advisors and will make a statement
shortly, but it seems the only option left open to them is to pursue the matter
through the courts. Anyway, here's what Bryan Jackson had to say
after the SFA's decision was announced:
"I hope first of all it will give us all a boost.
It's not a second chance because it was a second chance on May 23. Then we
could see we had a bit of a difficulty here and as the momentum was growing we
had some concerns and now we really do have a second chance so it is a bit of a
booster. My feelings are one of relief. Obviously it was really stressful
waiting for the outcome and I have to say it was just as stressful for everybody
at Falkirk as it was for everybody here. But we can be more positive now
and refocus on next year in the Premier League." Jackson
admitted that Terry Butcher, currently on holiday in America, may not have heard
the good news yet:
"Actually Terry is in America somewhere cruising. I
actually think Terry's a bit oblivious to it all. I know that one of the
the directors was trying to get hold of him, but I haven't spoken to him
yet." Jackson went on to say that
the club's top-flight survival means that James McFadden and Stephen Pearson
will not be leaving Fir Park on the cheap:
"Obviously we would have been a bit more under
pressure if it would have been a different result. We are back at where
all the other clubs are in that if someone comes in with a really good offer we
will have to look at it. In some ways you don't want the offers to come
because we will be able to survive without selling players. I think a
couple of clubs were waiting to see if there was going to be a cheap sale, so
now it's not going to happen they know they won't be getting our players on the
cheap, that's for sure. Nobody has been in for anyone yet at all, but I'm
in no doubt that they would have been waiting. If any offers do come then
we'd have to look at them, but we are not under the same pressure that we would
have been."
Next up is 'Well captain Scott Leitch:
"It's been a very difficult period for the club and we
have been struggling financially. If we had been relegated it could have
had serious implications. There would have been doubts about the future of
not only the players, but the club. There would have been a lot of job
cuts at the very least, so from a purely selfish point of view the decision was
such a relief. I was on holiday for three weeks and had no idea what was
happening back home. I didn't know about the appeal and I just presumed
Motherwell would be in the SPL next season. When I came home on Tuesday I
read all about the appeal hearing in the papers. The next 48 hours were
very anxious and the longer the whole thing dragged on the more doubt began to
creep into my mind. Thankfully, there was a happy ending for Motherwell -
though it wasn't an experience I would like to go through again.
"I'm delighted with the
outcome because all the players were desperate to stay in the SPL. I'm
disappointed for the players at Falkirk but rules are rules and they didn't meet
the criteria. Sadly there are a lot of politics in football these days and
while I do feel for the Falkirk players because they have nothing to show for
their efforts the people who run the club knew they had to have their house in
order and they didn't do it. Falkirk's loss is our gain and it would have
been a terrible tragedy for the younger players at the club if we had slipped
into the First Division. The fact that we have been allowed to stay in the
SPL will give them a major boost ahead of the new season."
Fellow midfielder Keith Lasley added:
"It is a real relief. The players could do nothing
to influence the decision and that was hard. It was a strange situation
that should have been sorted out long ago. After the initial vote, we thought
that was that but after Falkirk's appeal, we didn't have a clue what to think.
It could have affected our contracts or affected us in some other way if we had
gone into the First Division, so that's another major reason to be relieved.
"We're back in for pre-season
training next week and we cannot wait for that first game against Dundee.
The club have made some good signings over the summer and we want to show that
our league position last term was a false one."
James McFadden will miss most of our pre-season training as he recovers from the
foot injury that kept him out of the recent Scotland v Germany game. He
said:
"My foot is getting better but I've been told to rest
more. I won't join in our pre-season just to make sure, but will be okay
for the start of the season. I'm doing some light work just now but
everything has healed nicely".
Today's newspapers confirm that Stevie Woods has signed a two-year deal with St
Mirren. And Dirk Lehmann is apparently set to sign for German 2nd Division
side Kickers Offenbach.
Read what Charlie Nicholas thinks of the whole SPL/Falkirk saga
at the Evening
Times website. Plonker!
Cast your vote in our TWO new Opinion Polls:
Which area
of the team most needs strengthening over the close season?
and
Who is your Player of the Year?
|
