1 hour ago
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Airdrie 4 Hamilton Academical 0
How many statement nights are left before Christmas? Indeed, how many days are left for Hamilton Academical as a functioning football club?
‘It’s a soap opera,’ one fan told me. Another episode unfolded on Saturday as John Rankin, the manager, resigned. It was hardly a plot twist. The pressure on an excellent coach and a good man had been intolerable.
The story so far has included Accies being docked points by the SPFL last season, resulting in relegation from the Championship. Hamilton being docked six points this term for various breaches of regulations. The chairman resigning because of ill health. The two remaining leading figures – owner Seref Zengin and head of football Gerry Strain - being designated by the Scottish Football Association as ‘not fit and proper’ to hold a position in the game. Strain, now the sole director, is appealing that decision and reports suggest he is now pursuing a rescue plan.
The club reported losses of £1.4million for the 2023-2024 season. There has been an allegation of fraud which Police Scotland are investigating. On Saturday, the club played an away game that is nearer to their home town than their present abode in Cumbernauld. Oh, and the Accies were pumped 4-0 by their rivals, exiting the Scottish Cup that had held the hope of a lucrative future draw,
This slough of despond deepened at about 5pm on Saturday. A small, shivering press cadre were told that Rankin would not speak post-match. Moments later, he emerged from the tunnel to inform us that this was his last match in charge. He had spent Friday chasing payment for his players. They were paid five minutes before midnight.
A blood-red sky had illuminated the Albert Bartlett stadium, Rankin walked into the sunset.
John Rankin quit as Hamilton manager after chasing payments for his players the day before
The sun sets over Airdrie's stadium, and may be doing the same for their Scottish Cup opponents Hamilton
Manager Rankin speaks to his Accies players before resigning after the match
He told us he had been prepared to lead players, but he did not know where he was leading them. He had been dismayed by the anxiety that had been placed on his team. He made the decision for his family too, saying he would dig ditches, paint walls or whatever to provide for them. It was emotional but it was underpinned by reason.
Rankin frankly did not know what the immediate future held. This lack of clarity extends to the support. In the bleak midwinter, they trudged away from the match, unaware that their manager had resigned and totally in the dark about whether a club celebrating their 151st anniversary can survive what seems to have moved from crisis to impending catastrophe.
The club made three statements after Rankin quit. One, a couple of hours after the resignation, thanked Rankin for his efforts. Another was a video post of the former manager thanking players, fans and stuff. On Sunday morning, a post on social media thanked supporters for their backing.
There will have to be more statements this week to address growing concern. There are those inside both the Scottish FA and the SPFL who are worried about the club’s ability to continue in their present form. This is the nightmare scenario, of course, but it is one that dominates many minds. It was reported in October that the SPFL had withheld a £70,000 payment to the club over fears it may not be able to fulfil fixtures. The club insisted they were solvent.
The wages have been paid but now a search for a manager must be launched and a viable plan found to avoid administration or worse. This now lies on the shoulders of Strain. It weighs on the minds of supporters who have launched a crowd funder to help the club.
‘To be perfectly honest with you, we as fans are as much in the dark as the rest of Scottish football at the moment,’ Brandon Coghill, interim chair of the supporters’ association, told me on Friday.
It was a sad day for the Hamilton players as they were bundled out of the Scottish Cup 4-0 by Airdrie, and then lost their manager
A poignant scene as Airdrie's Albert Bartlett Stadium is pictured in the twighlight hours
An Airdrie supporter enjoys the spectacle as his team progress to next round of the cup
‘We don’t know where we are at. The last information we were made aware of was that the director of football had appealed the not fit and proper ruling from the Scottish FA. We just don’t know who is running the club at the moment. I wish I knew more. Every fan wishes he or she knew more.’
The fighting fund is an emergency provision that will be used when the issues become clear. ‘It’s very much in limbo at the moment,’ said Coghill. ‘The fund stands just shy of £25,000 which is great because its aim can only become clear when we know what issues we are addressing.’
There is a widespread fear among fans that administration is inevitable. Coghill said: ‘I am just hoping that I have a team to support by this time next year. It is that stark. It is also that painful.
Coghill, 30, has been going to Accies game since he was five and his daughter, Talia, has her name on a brick at New Douglas Park.
‘She is only three but has the full kit and always shouts about the Accies. I just want her to have a team to support. I will do everything in my power to achieve that.’
He admitted the crisis had taken its toll. ‘What we have had to go through week after week, day after day…I would not wish that on anyone. It has been very hard. So many things have happened in such a short space of time. It is like a soap opera, it’s not like real life.’
It was real life in the raw on Saturday. Hundreds of Accies fans turned up to give their support on a cold day. They applauded the team after the defeat but they were far from warmed by rumours circling the club.
The lack of knowledge has created a vacuum that, in turn, has fostered deep apprehension.
John Rankin has given everything for Hamilton but admitted to reporters he couldn't go on
More recriminations from the Hamilton players after Chris Mochrie scored Airdrie's second
The Accies players did their best in the circumstances but this was another sad day for the club
Jason Agnew stood in the stand with his son Ruaridh, 15, and his friend, Ethan Douglas, also 15.
Agnew, who is a driving instructor and runs his own business, said: ‘You can see it has not been run properly. But how and why? There was talk of a takeover but no one has heard anything more of it.’
He believed the Scottish FA should be ‘helping the club rather than pursuing us’. He added: ‘If it was Celtic or Rangers, would they be treated this way?’
His son, who has been coming to Accies games for 10 years, quietly insisted: ‘I will give up senior football if the Accies aren’t here. I will go to Junior games.’
His father said: ‘The fans are loyal to the team. The manager has been fantastic. But we need information. It’s all cloak and dagger.’
Arron Greechan, 26, agreed. ‘We are just going from game to game,’ he said. ‘We are all checking Twitter for statements. It’s terrifying.’
The supporters await the next notification with trepidation. Hope survives, but only just.
