We're banking on the future

The Cappielow club is, after all, already five points adrift at the foot of the First Division table and facing another long, difficult battle for survival. No pain like lost legends SPL secretary Iain Blair has revealed how two football tragedies put into perspective the abuse the organisation came in for during the fixture list chaos last season.

Blair was heavily criticised by fans and clubs alike for the SPL's handling of the fixtures backlog after Rangers had reached the Uefa Cup Final.

However, he has defended their actions in difficult circumstances and stressed the flak they took paled into insignificance after the tragic deaths of Phil O'Donnell and Tommy Burns.

Iain said: "We are only human. There are pressures with this job. The only thing you can do is be true to yourself.

"I hope there will never be another fixtures situation like last season. We had an unusual congruence of various different factors last year.

"We could have dealt with one or two of them and people wouldn't even have noticed. But it got to the stage where there were so many different things. I am biased, but I think we managed it reasonably well in the circumstances."

He added: "Earlier in the season Phil died and we ended the season with Tommy passing away. That put our problems in perspective."

Yet, it is the prospects of the SPL, the organisation he has been secretary of since its inception back in 1998, and not his beloved Ton which Blair is excited about.

The problems experienced by HBOS and the Royal Bank of Scotland, two of the country's oldest and largest financial institutions, have led to fears about the league's main sponsor, the Clydesdale Bank during the worldwide financial crisis.

Blair, though, reveals that not only is the bank's backing watertight but they are actually thinking of enhancing the current deal and then extending it when the four-year contract expires in 2011.

"At the moment, the Clydesdale Bank doesn't seem to be as exposed as some of the other banks on the High Street," Blair stressed. "We are in constant contact with them. Their situation is relatively healthy.

"In fact, not only is their investment in good shape, but they are also looking to roll out new sponsorship initiatives and put additional investment into the game. That will be confirmed over the next 12 months. We are pretty pleased with that.

"Both Lex Gold (the SPL's part-time chairman) and I have been receiving positive vibes from the Clydesdale Bank about their sponsorship and we are hopeful that it will not simply be a four-year deal.

"We hope, and we have every reason to hope, that it will be a longer term relationship. They have had a very positive first year in terms of the exposure they have received from the league and our clubs. They are looking to build on that foundation."

Nor does Blair, who helped set up the SPL in his previous job as a management consultant with Deloitte Touche and is its longest-serving employee, feel the credit crunch will impact in other areas of their business.

In fact, he wonders whether it could actually increase the already very healthy number of fans who are currently attending matches in the top flight in this country on a weekly basis.

He conceded: "The SPL doesn't operate in a bubble. It has to be affected by what is going on in the general economic situation. But whether the crisis is going to have a negative or positive impact on the SPL it is impossible to say.

"If the economy is becoming more challenging then discretionary spending by individuals may be reduced. If your discretionary spending is going to the game then it could have a negative impact. But if it is going on a holiday and you decide not to go on holiday you might have more disposable income to spend on going to football matches.

"Crowds at our fixtures have always been and continue to be very good. In European terms, we are eighth highest in terms of actual numbers who go to our games and we are also third per head of the population. We will, though, continue to monitor and review things."

The SPL's own entrance criteria, which allowed Borders minnows Gretna to go into administration with far-reaching consequences in a chaotic 2007/08 campaign, are also under serious scrutiny.

Blair and his colleagues at Hampden are keen to ensure there is no repeat of the circumstances which allowed one of their clubs, bankrolled by a multi-millionaire benefactor, to go out of business.

However, it is an extremely complex Europe-wide problem and he said: "Work is well underway, but it is not a simple thing to sort. If there was a silver bullet to solve the problem then we would use it. But we are looking at what we can do.

"We have to look at the historic financial performance of clubs wanting to be part of the SPL and examine the projections they can provide to us. We have financial specialists from all the clubs working with us on this.

"We are looking at what already goes on with the licensing system which the SFA use and which Uefa use for European competitions. Financial information is used as part of that process. We are looking if we can develop that further for our own purposes."

It is in such intricate legal situations where Blair, who is personally responsible for all the financial, legal and company secretarial affairs of the SPL, comes into his own.

He explained: "We have a corporate structure at the SPL. Lex and I and all the team here are responsible very much for the day-to-day running of the league. We very much drive things ourselves.

"On the football side, I am ultimately responsible for player registrations, fixturing and the competition. On the commercial side I work in support of Lex who tends to take the lead on things like broadcasting contracts, sponsorships and such like."

He went on: "The league is a company and the 12 member clubs are the shareholders. The role of the clubs is as the approving authority for the major decisions."

"For example, during the summer we agreed to extend our broadcasting contract with Setanta on greatly enhanced terms. That was something Lex and I had worked extensively on.

"But to conclude the contract we had to bring the details of it to a general meeting of the clubs for their approval. So, while we took the lead in terms of getting things up and running and agreeing the details of it, ultimately the clubs yay or nay it."

Nothing would give Iain Blair more pleasure than Morton being one of Scottish football's top flight clubs for the first time since way back in 1987.

For the time being, though, he is more than happy to represent the best interests of those outfits who are - and is confident they will continue to go from strength to strength. Scottish refs are among the best

IAIN BLAIR has given his emphatic backing to Scotland's top referees - and claimed there would be no advantage from them going full-time or bringing in video evidence.

Leading whistlers have come under fire from fans, managers and players this season after a series of high-profile blunders in big SPL ties.

However, the governing body's secretary insists the standard of officiating in this country at the top level is as good as in other major footballing nations.

Blair said: "I think the standard of refereeing has been excellent in broad terms. I genuinely think our referees are as good as any in Europe."

And he revealed SPL chiefs had rejected any idea of following the Barclays Premier League by bringing in professional refs.

Blair explained: "Full-time referees is something we have looked at, but I don't think it is the way for us to go forward.

"When we first looked at it we consulted with our colleagues south of the border, who have recently introduced full-time refereeing.

"Lex (SPL chairman Gold) cut to the chase and asked: Has it improved their decisions?' "The response he got was: Well, they're fitter.' The jury is still out on whether full-time refereeing is of benefit."

Neither is Blair sure the introduction of new technology would be of any serious advantage.

He argued: "The difficulty is that it over- complicates the whole situation. Can you imagine in a cup final, a tense occasion, if somebody clears a ball off the line at one end and there is an appeal for a goal.

"Before you can use any video evidence the other teams goes up the park and scores. What is that going to do for public order?" Blair sends out clear signal that SPL will not tolerate any abusive chants

SPL clubs are doing everything in their power to stamp out the scourge of sectarian chanting in Scottish football - but there is still room for improvement.

That was the message from Iain Blair today in response to the latest controversy over the issue. Rangers last month appealed to their fans to stop singing The Famine Song and warned they could be arrested if they were found to be taking part in the chant.

Blair said: "It is still a concern, but I think we've moved forward considerably over the last 15 to 20 years, even in the last four or five years.

"I think a lot of credit has to go to the clubs. They are the ones who have put in the work, introducing education programmes and who are trying to tackle this issue head on.

"I don't think anyone enjoys unacceptable chanting, whether it be racist, sectarian or just downright abusive in nature, in football grounds. We need to continue to do everything we can to reduce it. But we have to recognise how far we have come.

"Our clubs are aware if they were to fall down in this regard there is the possibility of warnings, fines and even restriction on use of parts of stadium."

He added: "Sir David Murray said last week he felt there was a role for the fans to police themselves because it is a minority who do indulge in this unacceptable behaviour. There is a silent majority. Perhaps there is an opportunity for that to happen.

"The important thing is how the clubs react in the circumstances. The reaction from Rangers in recent weeks is exactly what I would expect."