Bellshill booted out of Brandon Park once again

Dec 31 2008 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

BELLSHILL have been dealt another major blow after being told they are being kicked out of New Brandon Park ... again.

Building developer Stephen McGhee, who owns the ground, this week told the club’s management committee that he was ending the lease arrangement with immediate effect.

The festive season body blow comes less than two years after the Super Premier League club were rescued from the brink of oblivion.

Paul Fox, a local estate agent with a fairly lengthy junior football background, who heads up Bellshill’s management committee, said: “We have been made homeless. Stephen McGhee has told us we will not be allowed to use the park at all.

“Apparently he has fallen out with Motherwell Football Club, who used the park for their youth teams, and with that loss of income there’s no money to spend on maintaining the ground.

“He tried to stop our Scottish Cup tie against Whitburn the day before the game but that managed to go ahead and last Saturday we switched our game against Vale of Clyde to Tollcross.”

Fox added: “We just don’t know where we will go from here. League officials have been helpful in giving us three away fixtures against Auchinleck Talbot, Petershill and Glenafton, but we’ve got to make alternative arrangements to play our home games.

“We’ve enquired about the availability of Thorniewood’s park and are waiting on them getting back to us.

“Vale of Clyde have offered to help but travel on a regular basis could present a problem for our supporters. Cambuslang is another option. As far as our fans are concerned, there’s easy train access as the station is a couple of stops down the line.”

Ground owner McGhee was unavailable for comment.

Manager Tam McDonald said: “I’m not involved in the park arrangements so we’ll just try to get on with our job. We’ve got to stay focused and aim to finish as high up the league as we can.”

The first reaction from the players came when defender Ryan Jordan asked for a transfer.

McDonald added: “He says he can’t get his head around the ground shambles and is reneging on a two-year deal to get away.”