Scotland’s longest serving manager, Peterhead’s Jim McInally reckons that the ‘regional hub’ programme that was aired last week as a potential way to get football going again is the best idea he has heard since the coronavirus crisis struck however he is unsure if it could happen due to the wear and tear on pitches.
Plans to restart football in hubs in areas such as Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife and Aberdeen have been discussed by the SFA and SPFL Joint Response Group who were set up to work on ‘Scottish Project Restart.’
McInally reckons that moving Blue Toon games just over 30 miles to Aberdeen’s Pittodrie and playing in front of fans is a better approach than closed door offerings however he is not sure if the Dons would welcome hosting their games alongside those of potentially Cove Rangers, Elgin City and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The Balmoor manager said: “Of all the ideas that have been bandied about for starting football again the ‘hub’ one grabbed my attention. It would be an interesting one to explore as we would get playing again and there would be a crowd at it. Closed door games are not a route that clubs at our level could go down as we need the income from fans coming through the door.”
“However, I am not sure if Aberdeen or any other big club would be in favour. Reserve games have been moved away from big grounds to help pitches for years now and it is a big leap forward to move from that to having four or five teams playing there on a regular basis.”
© Peterhead Football Club/ Craig Stewart
