Killie
Chairman Michael Johnson, admitted yesterday that there is no way
Kilmarnock could be held hostage with Steven Naismith now the
way they were with Kris Boyd, who was entering the final years of
his contract when 2005-06 started......“The position with
Kris Boyd
earlier this season was quite different to where we are now with
Naismith, Steven has four years left on his deal. We had offered
Kris another two-year extension but he did not want to sign. It was
a question of waiting until the end of the season and having a
compensation argument with his new club or selling in January for a
fee.
“Kris
wanted to join Rangers and I didn’t want to stand in his way. After
a little prevarication, Rangers came in with a reasonable offer — it
was not what we were looking for, but in the end the deal was done.
We want to keep Naismith. He’s made a terrific impact this season.
He is developing quickly as an asset for Kilmarnock and he scored on
his under-21 debut for Scotland. I’m sure he will play against
Turkey at Rugby Park
next week.
“We
have no necessity or plans to sell him. He is the SPL Young Player
of the Year and we’d rather keen him. I don’t want to sell anyone.
We want a solid foundation at
Rugby Park.
“The Setanta deal is crucial for the smaller clubs in the SPL. We
will receive almost 50 per cent more in TV revenue next season and
that’s contracted now for four years. We can budget ahead with a bit
more confidence.
“With us having had quite
a good season and
players looking for extensions, we were going to go a wee bit over
budget. Setanta money has helped cushion that impact.
“There’s
no doubt any major reduction in revenue like that would be a big
blow. The big city clubs have larger crowds so TV is not as big a
percentage of their income. Now it is important that the SPL secures
a new title sponsor. There have been approaches and the board is
confident we will get a substantial deal in place to replace the
Bank of Scotland. The Setanta contract definitely makes the picture
better for the smaller clubs.
“There is no comparison, therefore, in the outlook for Kilmarnock
from this time last year to now. We really were hanging on by our
fingertips, it could have gone either way, quite literally. We have
come through that.
“The playing side is better, the sponsorship side is better and
attendances are up, not dramatically, but up nonetheless and we
appreciate that support. Everything looks better and we’ve reduced
losses by £1 million.
“We had a £1.3 million loss last year and this year it will be
£200,000 or £300,000. The debt is still running at over £10 million
with the Bank of Scotland and there are some directors’ loans with
Jamie Moffat, our previous chairman. We’ve not made inroads in that
but the bank is accommodating. We’ve reversed the trend of losses,
though, and we have to keep on top of that.”
