St Johnstone have risked the ire of their own support by deciding to hand over three of their four stands to Celtic and Rangers fans when they visit.
The Perth Saints’ board have cited “a noticeable lack of enthusiasm” from the club’s supporters to attend fixtures against either side of the Old Firm as a primary reason behind the controversial decision.
It means when St Johnstone host Celtic on January 29 and Rangers on February 23, the club’s support will all be contained in one stand – the West Stand, which accommodates around 3,000 fans.
For the St Johnstone players, it will feel like an away game on their own pitch when they walk out for kick-off with three stands filled with opposition fans.
An interesting statistic put forward by the Perth club to back up their claims was that their lowest home attendance of the season was against Rangers (1,451) when they were beaten 4-0.
The club’s average gate is 2,211. The St Johnstone support haven’t been queuing up to watch their team being thumped at home by the league’s two strongest teams.
But the principal reason for making this call is a financial one.
Tommy Wright’s men have toiled in the first half of the campaign and were without a league win until the end of October. They went into the winter break in ninth position thanks to an unbeaten December when they won two of their five fixtures and drew the other three.
But the Saints know they are embroiled in a relegation dogfight.
Bottom-of-the-league Hearts will surely improve in the second half of the campaign, while only three points separate the sides sitting eighth and 11th in the Premiership.
The Saints have displayed the worrying combination of being soft touches in defence and impotent in attack during the opening 19 games of the 2019-20 season.
It is imperative that Wright bolsters his squad during the transfer window if they are going to move away from danger.
The St Johnstone board will be very nervous about the consequences of demotion from Scotland’s top flight and keen to help Wright as much as they can.
They will have seen the struggles Dundee United have endured in trying to escape the Championship.
They look on course to do it this season but few would have expected the Tangerines to spend four years in the second tier when they were relegated in 2016. Caley Thistle, Partick Thistle and Dundee have also shown that returning to the top flight is no easy task.
The Inverness side confirmed a record loss of £892,000 at the club’s annual meeting last month as they struggle to find a sustainable model outside of the top tier.
The money generated from giving Celtic and Rangers three stands may be enough to buy Wright an additional player or two during the transfer window that could make all the difference. With so much at stake, who can blame them?
