THE deep disappointment felt by the four clubs unsuccessful in their attempts to join the Scottish Football League yesterday was tempered by fresh hope and encouragement that they will soon be able to follow Annan Athletic into the senior set-up by way of a pyramid system.
Gordon Smith, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, is currently leading a working party looking for a way to open up what has generally been a closed shop unless vacancies are created by either league reconstruction or the demise
of a member club, as in the latest case with Gretna.
Although Smith was not involved in yesterday's SFL election at Hampden, he reacted quickly to its outcome and urged Cove Rangers, Spartans, Edinburgh City and Preston Athletic to press ahead with plans for a step-up from the East of Scotland and Highland Leagues.
"Congratulations to Annan," said Smith, "but to the other four clubs I would say they should continue the work they are doing and, sometime in the future, there might be a system in place that allows them to gain entry into the SFL."
Alan McRae, the honorary president of Cove Rangers, had to swallow the bitter pill of seeing his club miss out on SFL status for a third time. Fourth in 2000 and third in 2002, they were runners-up to Annan yesterday. As SFA vice-president, McRae is certain to lend his support to moves towards the introduction of a pyramid.
"It's sad that, once again, this has come on the back of a club dropping out," said McRae. "Let's hope that, in the near future, the structure might be changed a wee bit and there will be an opening for ambitious and successful clubs to move forward.
"There are no sour grapes from us. It's been a good contest and has probably been well won by Annan.
We have so much to look forward to in relation to getting our new stadium up and running."
Spartans, regarded by many as the favourites at the start of the election process last month, finished third in the vote but chairman Craig Graham believes the chance to progress through a revamped league structure is becoming a more likely prospect.
"Scotland is the only country in western Europe whose football doesn't have a pyramid system and we will be lobbying for that now," said Graham.
"No junior club applied for this vacancy, which probably makes it easier for the pyramid to be based on the East of Scotland League and Highland League."
Graham admitted that Spartans faced difficulty in persuading the incumbent SFL clubs of the financial soundness of their bid, while the concerns over the readiness of their new Ainslie Park stadium also worked against them.
"We gave it our absolute best shot and at the end of the day came up short," he said. "We still have a lot to look forward to with our new stadium opening in the autumn, which was always going to happen with or without SFL football.
"We had a challenge explaining to people what our charitable structure was, although the interesting thing is that a number of clubs have the same charitable structure. The fact that our ground won't be finished until 13 September also counted against us in the scoring system that (SFL chief executive] David Longmuir and his colleagues put together.
"Were the chairmen taking a decision for next season, or one for three to five seasons down the line? Our stadium would have been finished at the end of July if the weather hadn't been so dreadful from January to March which cost us a six-week delay.
"Scotland generally is strange. People who are successful, who undertake ambitious prospects and who have some vision, you would expect people to take inspiration from that. But, once or twice, there is a bit of jealousy around. We certainly didn't encounter that from talking to the club chairmen, but you get more questions on where you got your funding, rather than people applauding you for what you are trying to do for the kids in north Edinburgh."
With just one vote apiece, it was a painful day for both Edinburgh City and Preston Athletic but both clubs tried to shrug aside their dismay and set their sights on being ready to take advantage of any changes to the league structure.
"We hope there will be future opportunities," said Edinburgh City chairman Andy McDonald. "We know we have a strong club and we will be back the next time. It's all part of our development.
"I've no idea when the next opportunity will come, but we want to win the East of Scotland League next season then come knocking on the door asking for a pyramid system. There is a working group looking at that and we obviously believe it makes sense.
"The only chance we have at the moment is if another club goes under and that's not great for football. We congratulate Annan. They have been great for the East of Scotland League and I'm sure they will be great for the Scottish Football League."
Andrew Waddell, secretary of Preston Athletic, said: "Having gone through the process we've picked up a lot of experience and support. It means East Lothian Council have woken up to the prospect that it is possible to have a team.
"I'm quietly confident there will be a pyramid system sooner rather than later and what we've got to do is build a team that's strong enough to get there on merit. It's better than waiting on dead men's shoes."
FACT BOXFounded: 1942
Ground: Galabank (capacity: approximately 2,000, with 426 seated)
Chairman: Henry McLelland
Manager: Harry Cairney
Last season: 7th in East of Scotland League Premier
Recent honours: East of Scotland League champions (1989/90, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2006/07), Tennent's Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) Winners (2006/07) SFA South Region Challenge Cup winners (2007/08)
Robert Burns to Ugly Betty, 10 things you didn't know about Annan1 Seven miles to the west of the English border, the Royal Burgh of Annan is the third biggest town in Dumfries & Galloway, after Dumfries and Stranraer, with a population of around 10,000.
2 The town takes its name from the popular angling river which flows through it to the Solway. The town motto is Ut Flumen Sic Opidum (As the river, so the town).
3 Annan's Motte and Bailey Castle was the original home of the 'de Brus' family, later known as the "Bruces", lords of Annandale, which included Robert the Bruce.
4 Robert Burns worked in the town as an exciseman in the late 1790s.
He wrote the poem The De'il's awa wi' the Exciseman above what is now the town's best chippy, the Cafe Royal.
5 Annan is home to Scotland's first nuclear power station, Chapelcross, which opened in 1959. It produced tritium for Britain's nuclear arsenal. It is in the process of decommissioning and its four cooling towers came down in a spectacular demolition last summer.
6 Like many border towns, Annan celebrates an annual Riding of the Marches – a ceremonial inspection of the town's boundaries by a cavalcade of horses. This year's festival takes place tomorrow.
7 Annan also boasts a rugby team who play in National League Division 1.
8 Olympic gold medallist Steve Ovett lived at nearby Kinmount House for several years in the 1990s and occasionally competed in an Annan & District AC vest.
9 Famous contemporary Annanites include former Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace and Extras and Ugly Betty actress Ashley Jensen.
10 The late father of former Hollyoaks actress and erstwhile love interest of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gemma Atkinson, hailed from Annan and she spent many childhood holidays in the town.
DUNCAN SMITHThe full article contains 1309 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
