Fir Park chief Alan Burrows has been a Motherwell supporter all his life – but admits he’ll be on the edge of his seat rooting for Rangers when they take on PSV Eindhoven in Holland on Wednesday night. And Burrows insists that every other Premiership club should follow his lead and get behind the Light Blues.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will rake in £35million if they come out on top in the second leg of their Champions League play-off. But the cash bonus that will trigger for domestic rivals will be just as vital – and could even help some clubs keep their heads above water.
Rangers claimed a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Ibrox but, with UEFA adding 21 per cent extra this year to their fund for top-flight sides, a win in Eindhoven will have club accountants throughout the country celebrating. Celtic’s qualification has already guaranteed the other 10 Premiership clubs a £400,000 solidarity payment from UEFA – but that will be boosted to around £600,000 if Rangers can also make it to the group stage.
Burrows said: “None of the other Premiership clubs can budget for participating in the Champions League but the UEFA handouts to the rest of the league will make a huge difference. 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 that sum will represent 20 per cent of their turnover.”
Fans outside of the Old Firm might find it hard to support Rangers or Celtic but Burrows argues that a win in Europe would help the Scottish game. He said: “It’s easy to be tribal when it comes to these things but you need to look at the big picture with your sensible hat on.
“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 the clubs need that money. That’s why everyone bar Celtic has skin in Wednesday’s match. Celtic would lose money in the short term if Rangers qualified because them dropping into the Europa League would hand Celtic a big financial advantage.
“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 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 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.”
READ NEXT
