Accies play down all talk of cash crisis

Mar 12 2009 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON Accies chairman Ronnie MacDonald this week insisted that the club are financially “rock solid.”

He was responding to weekend reports linked to a Court of Session case in which former assistant manager John McCormack is claiming wrongful dismissal by the New Douglas Park club.

McCormack is claiming almost £100,000 from Accies for alleged breach of a two-year contract.

Following his dismissal on September 1 last year, McCormack launched a legal action to arrest the club’s £120,000 share of the gate from the Co-operative Insurance Cup quarter-final clash against Rangers at Ibrox on October 28, pending the determination of his claim.

After an appeal by Accies, that ruling was overturned and £80,000 returned to the club.

However, a judge, Lord Carloway, ruled that the remaining £40,000 should be arrested and remain as security until the case between McCormack and Accies is decided.

In his judgement, Lord Carloway said that there was no doubt that the club are “absolutely insolvent.”

That remark appears to be based on information in papers submitted to the High Court by Accies showing that the club have debts of more than £1.6m.

Yesterday (Wednesday), club chairman MacDonald admitted that he was owed almost £1m - but stated emphatically that he had no intention of calling in the debt.

Accies also have an ‘historic’ debt to the Inland Revenue which last June amounted to £275,000.

However, some of that has already been paid and they hope to clear the debt shortly.

“Our club is rock solid,” Mr MacDonald told the Advertiser. “The judge said we’re insolvent because we owe money to a creditor, but by that rule then Manchester United and Chelsea are also insolvent.

“I took over the club and we have a long-standing arrangement with the Inland Revenue that is well-documented and has been done in the proper fashion.

“I’m entirely happy with the finances at the club and as far as I am concerned we are entirely solvent.

“We’re looking at building a new academy in the town right now and we would hardly be doing that if we didn’t have two sticks to rub together now, would we?”

Mr MacDonald took over the club in 2003 after years of acrimony, in-fighting and supporters’ protests mostly linked to the bid to build a new ground.

Hugely popular with the fans, he has taken Accies from the basement of Scottish football to the SPL and galvanised the club’s youth set-up. Last year, he sold his stake in Glasgow-based Cullen Packaging.

He added: “There is a major creditor that the club owes money to and that is me.

“Theoretically I could decide one day that the club is going down the tubes but I’m not going to do that.

“It’s a scare story as far as I am concerned. I am very relaxed with how the club is doing, and we’re in good shape. Other than Celtic and maybe St Mirren I think we have the best finances in Scottish football.

“In fact, we don’t have a problem, unlike the majority of Scottish football.”