Budget cut hits Airdrie United squad

Jun 10 2009 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

KENNY BLACK has told three more players they won’t be offered new contracts after his budget for next season was cut.

The Airdrie United boss was hoping to keep released Rangers full-back Willie McLachlan and award young defender Calum Brady and midfielder Michael Brown short-term deals.

But Black has informed the trio they will not be offered fresh terms after he received confirmation of next season’s playing budget at the weekend.

The true cost of relegation to the second division hit home this week as the gaffer admitted he only has enough cash to fund a full-time squad of around 16 or 17 players.

He already has six under contract after David Nixon and Paul Lovering signed on the dotted line for next term.

But Black says he will be looking to teenagers from the Diamonds’ under-19 pool to make up the numbers when injuries and suspensions bite.

And in a bid to reduce off-field costs, the 45-year-old revealed the club will no longer operate from the stadium or play a pre-season friendly at home next month.

He told the Advertiser: “The budget has been cut from last season and it is now up to me to be as competitive as I can with the offers I make players.

“There is no bargaining power in terms of the offers made and they are take it or leave it. I am hoping to hear more by the end of this week.

“We knew that coming out of the first division would be a real blow to everyone and it is hitting us now. These are tough times but I always knew it was going to be this way.”

Black says the club are hoping to agree a deal which would see them secure permanent training facilities at Glasgow Green or Little Kerse near Falkirk.

But he admitted he has no idea where his new manager’s office will be based.

“We are hoping to move and Glasgow Green and Little Kerse are two areas we are currently looking at,” he said.

“The stadium company will be looking to be reimbursed for dressing rooms on a daily basis, the physio room, manager’s office and Jimmy Boyle’s office.

“And we are having to find ways of trimming the costs which is why we are looking for a permanent base elsewhere.

“My manager’s office will be a unit somewhere but it will not be based at the stadium and we will only be there on matchdays.”

Black reckons some part-time teams could compete with Airdrie in terms of attracting players and admits English non-league sides have more cash to splash than the Diamonds.

“Although we are working full-time, I wouldn’t be surprised if those on a part-time budget aren’t too far behind us,” he added.

“We have got to be realistic and there will be players out there earning as much as some of the players we are trying to retain full-time.

“The board of directors are on record as saying that they will not put the future of the club in doubt and I am sure they will be working hard behind the scenes.

“I have been speaking with a couple of friends who are involved with Unibond League clubs in England and one of the teams that has come out of the Premier Division has more than double the budget we have.”

Meanwhile, chairman Jim Ballantyne has confirmed that St Andrew’s Hospice will again be emblazoned on the front of the players’ jerseys.

The Diamonds’ main sponsor, Gillespie Investment Group, have donated the space to the charity for a second successive season as part of their deal.

Ballantyne, who was re-elected unopposed to the role of vice-president of the SFL management committee at the organisation’s AGM, said: “The support we receive from the Gillespie group is fantastic and in excess of anything we have ever had.”

lAIRDRIE will face Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 11 and host Alloa Athletic in the first round of the League Cup on August 1.