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Daily Record
19 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Albion Rovers boss assesses Lowland League title hopes as he issues 'bottomed-out' warning
Sandy Clark gives a realistic assessment on ambitions as Coatbridge club cuts costs Albion Rovers boss Sandy Clark says he is realistic enough to know his side won't win the Lowland League this season, but he is also confident that they won't be the worst in the division either. There is no relegation from the Lowland League this term with reconstruction coming in from the 2026/27 campaign, but cash-strapped Rovers still face a difficult year with budget restraints crippling their ability to attract quality players for the forthcoming season. And Clark believes his side, who finished sixth in the fifth tier last season, won't be anywhere near challenging for the title this term and says his target for the team this term is to give it their best shot. The Rovers gaffer, who took a pay cut this season to stay in charge, said: 'The target is to be the best we can be. Once we get a squad signed up - which will take a few weeks - all I will ask is that they work as best they can and carry out the tactics we ask of them. 'We won't be the worst team in the league, but it is fair to say we won't be challenging. 'We certainly won't win the league, there's absolutely no doubt about that. 'There is no relegation this season but anyone that I sign to come and work with me, if they think bottom of the league is acceptable, they won't be there for long. 'The one thing we can offer them is a platform. If I can sell them up the way to a bigger club, that is success for me and them. 'I have been in situations like this before at teams in my career where you have little budget. You just have to deal with it, try to get good players as best you can within the budget by being sensible. 'You have to give one player a bit more and the next player has to take a little bit less. Maybe you bring in an experienced player and then a younger player so the two of them marry up to help you take a step forward. 'That is the way it is going to have to be here. I know exactly what I have to do.' A club statement released late last season claimed internal wrangling amongst shareholders has held the club back from finding new revenue streams after their parachute payments for falling out of the SPFL in 2023 ceased. Rovers are currently in discussions with the SFA about upgrading Cliftonhill to an artificial surface through the Scottish Football Facilities Fund, which would open up the pitch for community use. Clark says the current situation at the club is frustrating but he will just need to get on with his job as best he can. He added: 'I can only focus on the football side of the club. 'There is still the internal stuff with the shareholders that I can't really get my head around. 'Why people can't work together, I don't know, but that has been covered before. 'The best way to describe things right now is that Albion Rovers have bottomed out. They can't go any lower. If they go any lower with the situation the club is in financially, eventually you find yourself in bother. 'When I look at the players I've lost, every one of them were people I wanted to keep and we couldn't manage it because other clubs recognised they were good players and had the budget to go and make them a financial offer that we couldn't. 'Everyone goes with my best wishes because they gave me everything they had when they were here.' Meanwhile, Rovers have added two friendlies to their pre-season schedule with Queen of the South reserves and St Mirren B their opponents. They already face Airdrie this Saturday and were due to host Queen's Park last night. The clash with the Doonhamers will be played on Saturday, July 12, kick off 3 pm, and on Saturday, July 19 the Saints come calling in a 3pm kick-off.


Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Taylor Fritz brands Perricard mega serve 'bad' for one reason as he shows true colours in Wimbledon interview
Fritz wasn't convinced by Perricard's incredible serve after winning the point against his opponent Taylor Fritz delivered an uncharacteristically colourful interview after edging past Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to reach the second round of Wimbledon – saying his opponent's record-breaking serve proved something he's always believed. World No.5 Fritz was taken all the way by the unfancied French player, who took their Monday night first-round encounter into a second day after a winner couldn't be found last night. It went to a fifth set with two tie-breakers fought out along the way but Fritz eventually won out, taking the final set 6-4. That wasn't before Mpetshi Perricard made some Wimbledon history though. In the opening set, he recorded the fastest serve the competition has ever seen at 153mph. But Fritz, incredibly, won the point. Speaking after the win, a relieved Fritz was asked about it in front of the cameras on No.1 court and said: "Well yeah, I'd been saying to my coaches all week. They kept asking me to body serve, and I said I hate body serving, I never seem to win the point. "So he hits a body serve there, as fast as that, and I win the point. So there's your proof, body serves are bad!" It was meant in good humour as a smiling Fritz lapped up the adulation of the Wimbledon crowd. Fritz doesn't often give much away and that colourful exchange between the BBC interviewer and the American caught the attention of former Australian star Todd Woodbridge on co-commentary. Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.


BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Keeper Connelly signs new Motherwell deal
Goalkeeper Matty Connelly has penned a new one-year deal at 22-year-old academy graduate spent last season on loan at East Kilbride, playing 46 games and gaining promotion from the Lowland League to the SPFL's fourth who has also had spells at Falkirk, Gretna and Stranraer, is yet play a first-team game for Motherwell.


Daily Record
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Imminent Rangers transfer ridiculed as Hotline spots the real answer staring Russell Martin in the face
The calculators are out on the Hotline but is the free transfer option one Rangers should be pursuing? Robert Livingstone, Palm Beach, thinks so. He said: "It's unlikely Rangers will get the money wanted for Hamza lgamane, he'll stay. With Dessers it's been a drawn-out affair for that extra £1m, he also may stay. So any point spending £5m on a risky untried Dor Turgeman who may or may not be any good? " Russell Martin wants to wake up to himself and get Lawrence Shankland for nothing, it's staring him in the face. He's fit and ready for European and SPFL games. Most punters say it's common sense, and last chance saloon for Martin to get him." Charles Maxwell reckons former head of recruitment Nils Koppen is due some credit for his role in bringing Igamane to Ibrox in the first place. He said: "Going by the figures flying around for Igamane, it's beginning to look like blue chip holdings sold the golden goose just as it was starting to lay an egg or two. "Perhaps now the poorly treated and recently punted Nils Koppen will get the credit he deserves." Gordon Ashley, Ayr, said: "Rangers and their fans need to stop dreaming. I was scoffed at by Chris Lowe and co for mocking Rangers £25m valuation of Igamane and now it seems that has dropped to a pitiful £13m and the likes of Lille are walking away laughing. "Celtic get big money deals for our players because we are champions and play at a much higher level in Europe so get used to it. " Rangers have been heavily linked with Brighton teenager Zebedee Lawson but Richard Wharton, Carlisle, said: "Who is this Zebedee who has turned down Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Dortmund to sign on at Govan? Oh yes he's from the magic roundabout!" Across the city Jimmy Murray, Edinburgh, has two exits he'd like to see at Celtic. He said: "So fed up with the same crap coming out of Parkhead every transfer window. Forget buying rubbish. Just get proper professional coaches in and bring through the talent at Lennoxtown. "What we have now is coach John Kennedy who wanders about the training ground with a notepad and fellow hanger-on Gavin Strachan who does the same only with his trusty laptop. Get this pair out or Celtic will never go forward." Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton, said: "It's reported that Brenford are the latest club to be linked with Daizan Maeda but I think he will have second thoughts regarding moving at this stage of his career when seeing how Matt O'Riley and Kyogo's moves turned out. "Brentford are hardly a Bayern and I can see him moving to a top European side in the future but not at this moment in time." And a quote from Jim Goodwin after signing defender Bert Esselink has caught Tim Gibbens' attention. He said: "Are Dundee United now being managed by an algorithm? "Jim Goodwin announced the signing of Bert Esselink by saying that 'the statistical data reinforces his intelligence when selecting a progressive passing option'. Can you imagine the likes of Jock Stein or Brian Clough ever saying that?"


STV News
5 days ago
- Business
- STV News
New Dumbarton owner aims to make club financially stable by 2027
New Dumbarton owner Mario Lapointe believes he can get the club on a stable financial footing within the next two years. A big part of his plans surrounds installing an artificial surface at The Rock and having the stadium in use all year round, including music and comedy festivals. The League Two side are one of the oldest in the country, and twice national champions having won the top-flight title in 1891 and 1892. They are now at the bottom of the SPFL pyramid, having suffered relegation from League One last season. And Lapointe pinpointed that history, as well as the passion for football in the country, as one of the main reasons why he chose to come to Scotland. However, the French-Canadian businessman and musician, who also looked at clubs in England, Ireland, and throughout Europe, has prioritised getting the finances in order to make Dumbarton sustainable for future generations. He said: 'My early goals are finances, because if you don't look at the financial thing, you will not have a club, you were three weeks away from not having a football club here. 'It was very close to not being there, so that is my first goal. 'We don't want to be relegated, of course, nobody ever wants to go down because nobody ever comes back again, statistically it is very hard to come back. 'So we have to make sure we invest in the right places and have a quick return on these things, and that money will then be reinvested in talent. 'Next year, June 2026, is when we will start digging this ground and put turf on it. After a full season on that turf, you get the full revenues, the rental revenues, and you get the new balance on your budget. 'So I believe that by the end of the second season, you should be back to par, meaning you are not standing in the red all the time, you'll have some months in the black, some months in the red, and that's what I see.' Lapointe has been looking to invest in a football club for the last couple of years and spoke to several others before deciding on Dumbarton. He said: 'I was looking at clubs in Scotland, Ireland, England, Spain, and Bulgaria, but Bulgaria was too scary. I don't know if you know the stats that something like 11 owners have been shot in Bulgaria in the last 20 years. 'At the end of it, for the pockets that I have, I was not looking at teams worth £400m. 'In the end, there were Ireland, England, and Scotland. 'Scotland just felt the best option for me with the way I saw the whole thing happening, and that was it. 'You don't realise the passion for football that you have here. And Dumbarton is a resilient club that has had so many different ups and downs over the years. I have spoken to fans with five or six generations of Dumbarton supporters in their family. 'So that was my attraction to this place: it was the heritage, the family values, and the community. I did not expect so many volunteers of this quality, and we have great quality at this club, so from then on the romance starts. 'I come in with positivity and full transparency. For me, there is a lot of potential here, and we just have to do it step by step now.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country