Wasps won't be left behind

Iain Robertson - Iain Robertson • Published 1 Apr 2009 12:30 0 Comments

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ALLOA Athletic say they won"t be left behind if plans to radically restructure Scottish Football become a reality.

The top 12 clubs in the country met recently at the national stadium, where they agreed to press ahead with moves to create the long talked about SPL2.

Whilst many commentators say the proposed new league is litle more than a rebranding exercise, there are fears among many smaller clubs that they could be excluded from possible entry.

But Wasps vice-chairman Mike Mulraney told Advertiser Sport that Alloa are working hard to be one of those very much included.

He said, 'Two years ago we didn"t comply on any measurement but now we could look at how we could comply to meet any restructuring.

'As a club we are open minded to league construction - and will do everything possible not to be left behind to allow the town of Alloa to have a senior club.'

There would be stipulations on stadium capacity or training facilities with new league structures that some worry could leave an SFL rump of teams unable to ever reach the giddy heights of the top two tiers.

While Mike is not unduly worried about future change, he doesn"t think major restructuring is imminent either.

'I think in the current economic climate - they will find it very difficult to do any restructuring,' he said.

'But some time in the medium term there will likely be some form of restructuring or amalgamation.'

And with a new pitch, stand, cover and youth structure in place at the Recs, the club is moving forward both on and off the pitch to equip itself for any new league format that lies ahead.

Mike continued, 'The club"s decision to invest in our infrastructure was right.

'We have taken a lot of investment risks, but so far it has been worth it. The upgrades we have made to the ground were needed in order to allow us to become a true community club.'

At the heart of that drive is bringing local youngsters along to the Recs. Primary kids from the area are being brought to the stadium as part of the Alloa FC Healthy Initiative Scheme.

Pupils who have been learning in class about food, nutrition and the importance of exercise visit the club and, along with having a look around, enjoy a 30 minute coaching session.

'We have kids from all over Central Scotland coming to the club and being shown around. And we are on target by May to have had one hundred thousand user visits since the start of the season,' said Mike.

And the impact of these initiatives are already being seen on the terraces.

Mike added, 'Average home gates are up - we are doing very well because we are embracing the community.'

This is a remarkable achievement in the current economic climate.

Recent polls have shown that the vast majority of Scotland"s senior clubs feel the credit crunch will hit attendances and revenue.

'Without a doubt these are terrible times economically,' said Mike.

'For us, though, the local business community have been great and stayed behind us.

'What we have tried to build is a community club and we are well on our way to achieving that.'

And the drive to increase the number of punters coming through the turnstiles continues this weekend with the club"s aptly named 'Credit Crunch Saturday" - it"s a buy one get one free offer.

For the home game against Peterhead, supporters are being asked to bring along someone who would not normally attend an Alloa game.

A voucher for this offer is inside today"s Advertiser.

This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 02 Apr 09

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