Doomsday looms if TV tap is turned off

BILLY STARK believes any club that thinks it can survive in the SPL with part-time football isn't living in the real world.

The national youth teams' coach won promotion to the top flight with St Mirren in 1977 and the Paisley club - then under Alex Ferguson - immediately took steps towards becoming full-time and haven't looked back since.

With the Setanta cash crisis threatening the very existence of several SPL outfits, the view that part-time football is better than none at all might soon gain widespread popularity.

But while Stark, below, wouldn't discount a part- time side scraping towards survival in one given season, he feels it's simply not a viable long-term option.

He said: "You can be successful as a part-time club but it's got to be in context. You are not going to survive in the Premier League with that set-up.

"Of course there's always a chance someone could disprove that over a season but in the long-term you won't sustain your Premier League status with part-time football.

"There's been talk of part-time football over the years and whether it would be healthier for some clubs to operate like that.

"What's always the most important thing is that clubs survive. If clubs do go part time it's because that's all their budget allows.

"It doesn't necessarily mean the end of the road, but you might have to revisit your ambitions.

"You have to put it in context - Queen's Park, for example, have a long and proud history of being amateur. The expectations that come with that mean they can continue on that basis.

"But there's no doubt being full-time gives you a far greater chance of being successful in the long term.

"Yes, Ayr United won promotion out of the Second Division, although part-time is the norm in that league. Raith had mostly full-time players and their success bears out what I'm saying."

When St Mirren won the First Division 32 years ago, Ferguson's message to the board was simple - for the club to progress, full-time football was essential.

Saints allowed players with decent jobs a period of grace to decide what direction they wanted to take and, mercifully for the likes of Stark, his dedication to football soon paid off.

He said: "People look at St Mirren and probably think they've always been full-time but they were part- time initially when they won promotion. That was proper part-time - training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday nights.

"We went full-time when Fergie saw the benefits of it."

CAMPBELL MONEY hopes we'll never again see part-time football in Scottish football's top flight but believes it's the only way for the rest of the Scottish game to go.

Money played both part-time and full-time with St Mirren and managed on a part-time basis at both Ayr and Stranraer.

Now in charge of youth development at Stenhousemuir, the 1987 Scottish Cup hero feels the general fitness and conditioning of part-timers has never been better. But he feels that it's still asking too much to ask them to go toe-to-toe each week with players who have their entire week to dedicate to their preparation.

However, as far as balancing the books for the 30 SFL sides, Money feels part-time football is no more than common-sense economics.

He said: "I don't think it will happen again in the Premier League but I think it definitely will outwith the top division. I also think that it SHOULD.

"Clubs have to be very careful what they are doing financially. The way players look after themselves now there is not a significant difference between full-time and part-time players.

"The part-timers are much more willing and able to look after themselves than when I was playing, so that should count for a lot.

"Part-time has major potential to return because these clubs cannot continue to spend the money they are spending with the crowds they are getting. What happens if the sponsorship dries up?"

Thirty-two years ago Money faced the opposite dilemma when, after newly promoted St Mirren announced they were going full-time, he had to weigh up his football career against his recent venture into the police force.

Money opted to put down his policeman's notebook in preference to goalkeeper's gloves - but his decision almost came at an alarming cost.

He added: "I was almost a year as a cadet before going full-time.

"I remember playing a reserve game for St Mirren at Love Street against Aberdeen on a Tuesday night and I had just come off the back shift and still had my uniform on."

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