OUR TOUGHEST EVER TASK

ALLOA chairman Mike Mulraney says the club have made life even harder for themselves by surviving in the SPFL Championship for a record-breaking third consecutive season.

It is the first time in the club’s history that they achieved such a feat and now means that they are one of only two part time teams in the league alongside Dumbarton. The SPFL board member is convinced it will be their toughest challenge yet.

The Wasps can now look forward to games against the likes of Greenock Morton, St Mirren, Hibernian and Glasgow Rangers, who failed at the final hurdle with defeat in the playoff final to Motherwell, but the chairman insists they still will not spend beyond their means.

Mulraney told Advertiser Sport: “From a financial point of view, having Rangers in the Championship again next season is fantastic, but from a footballing perspective, I am sure they will be an even more formidable opposition on the pitch than they were this year.

“We just wanted to be playing in this division regardless of who was in it and so it was always going to be another difficult, but it was always going to be an exciting season again for us no matter which clubs were in it.

“If we found it tough last year then I would have to agree that it looks even tougher this year with the likes of Hibs, Morton, St Mirren and now Rangers all added into the mix now. We have also lost one of the part time clubs out of the league which means it is just ourselves and Dumbarton now and we will be up against it. We know it is even harder this time around, but this is where we want to be and why we love playing at this level. Danny’s budget has been set for a number of weeks and wasn’t affected by the Rangers result last weekend. It was set the day we maintained our league status that means he knows exactly where he is, and he knows we must improve if we are to maintain our position again. He has a bit of a rebuilding job on his hands this summer, but hopefully people see that we have a decent record of backing our managers. We support them in every way we can and although it is sometimes tough for the supporters to understand, we work to a budget and we simply won’t break that. It does mean it will be very difficult for Danny because we will be up against teams who will pay players way beyond our budget, but last year proved it can be done and we will strive to do the same again this season.” Mulraney is proud of the accomplishments of his small town club and he believes the whole of the Wee County will now benefit from them having another season in the SPFL Championship.

The Wasps owner has tasked his new boss Danny Lennon with achieving an 8th place finish in the league next season, but knows that his own high standards will have the former St Mirren gaffer striving for higher.

He said: “Danny will be tasked with keeping us up and my own personal goal would be to finish 8th, but knowing the manager he will have aspirations to finish higher than that. Survival is important until we consolidate ourselves in the league.

“This is new territory for us as a club to stay at this level for a third consecutive season so it’s a big deal that we are here and we now need to look to build on it. Economically for the town and the county once again with all these big games coming up again. You only have to speak to local business owners to realise the impact it has had on their businesses. I think it is also great PR for the town itself for people to be focusing on our town.” The chairman admits his phones have been inundated with calls from other clubs declaring an interest in their key players, but he says the club will do everything in their power to maintain a strong squad for the new season.

Mulraney added: “As a club, we are overwhelmed with interest in our key players, but it will be Danny’s job to replace the ones who leave and build a new squad if that’s required. Every season sees a change in personnel and this one will be no different.

“Some of the guys are getting on in age and some may want to go full time, but that is the nature of football for a part time club. It means that we have to work that bit harder than everyone else to get the very best squad we can and that is exactly what we’ll do.”