St Mirren have defended their decision to allocate Celtic and Rangers supporters two full stands for matches against the Old Firm – and insist the controversial move will give manager Jack Ross a six-figure budget boost.
Some Buddies fans have reacted angrily to the recent news that the club would offer the South Stand, which traditionally houses the home support, as well as the full North Stand to the Glasgow clubs for next term.
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Both enclosures hold a combined capacity of 3300 at the 7500-seater St Mirren Park and season tickets in the South Stand would be reduced in price to reflect the new arrangement.
St Mirren insist they are taking these measures to enhance the chances of Ross – the Ladbrokes Championship Manager of the Year – leading the team to a top-six finish in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
A club statement read: “We can completely understand that the announcement was not universally well received but please rest assured that the decision was not taken lightly by the board.
“Our stated aim is to have St Mirren challenging in the top six of the Scottish Premiership.
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“We need to give the manager a budget that shows we are serious about staying in the division and, as a board, we need to investigate every avenue to achieve that without putting the club at risk.
“Making this decision means that we can add a six-figure sum to that budget to help make this happen.
“It is no coincidence in football that league position and the size of a manager’s budget are usually fairly well aligned.
“There will always be exceptional seasons where the trend is bucked both positively and negatively but generally speaking for our football club to change from one merely seeking to survive to one regularly challenging for a place in the top six requires us to increase our overall turnover by around 50 per cent.
“That is a huge task but one we are committed to achieving.”
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