Hearts training resuming before rest of us was giving them ‘unfair advantage’, says Morton chief Dave MacKinnon
MORTON chief Dave MacKinnon has backed the Joint Response Group’s decision to call a halt to Hearts training restart – saying it gives them an unfair advantage.
The Tynecastle club had posted highlights of their first team stars returning to training as they prepared for BetFred Cup matches and the imminent Championship campaign, but they must now go back into cold storage until August 24 at the earliest.
The news was contained in a missive sent out from the JRG on Thursday in the wake of the Covid-19 rule breaches at Premiership sides Aberdeen and Celtic which almost led to a pause in the resumption of Scottish football.
The Jambos were further incensed when recently relegated Hull City were able to train at their Edinburgh training base – 24 hours after Hearts themselves were ordered to stop.
But Morton supremo MacKinnon feels the Gorgie club already have an advantage in the Championship this campaign and getting a head-start on training would have given them an ‘unfair advantage’.
He said: “I can understand Hearts’ perspective. From a player welfare point of view, if they have been training for two weeks and they have to stop for a week to 10 days, then they almost are starting again from scratch.
“Clubs look at the start date and then work out their pre-season back from there. It’s calculated to avoid players pulling up with injuries.
“But you can also see how it could be perceived as an unfair advantage if Hearts were given special dispensation to return earlier than the rest of the Championship clubs.
“We know why they were given dispensation; it was because they were appealing against the process that saw them relegated. I get that.
“But Hearts already have an advantage. They have a significantly higher budget than clubs like Morton.”
Other English clubs are set to use facilities north of the border in the coming days, with Premier League side West Ham arranging pre-season friendlies in St Andrews.
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MacKinnon, though understanding, senses the league title would already be in Hearts’ hands if they were able to begin preparations early.
He continued: “If the Championship was a 100m race, Hearts would be on the starting blocks with 20m to go. It will be difficult enough for clubs to compete with them but if they have the advantage of being allowed to train weeks ahead of everyone else, we’d be as well giving them the title now.
“Everyone is supportive and understands the trials and tribulations Hearts have been through, we have great sympathy.
“But we need to make sure we all start with the same chance.”
The SPFL insist the organisation are showing they will do what they can to safeguard football’s return after Nicola Sturgeon threatened to pull the plug after the Premiership breaches.
The First Minister brandished football the ‘yellow card’ after the high-profile breaches since the return, saying football has one more chance.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive, said: “Today’s measures underline the fact that Scottish football is doing everything it possibly can to protect our game.
“The recent, high-profile breaches must be used as further motivation for all those with our game’s best interests at heart to comply absolutely with these necessary restrictions and safeguards.
“The JRG must now ensure that the planned resumption of football beyond the Scottish Premiership is done in a controlled manner with the strictest adherence to protocols and guidelines.
“The pause on the return to training for the professional game outwith the Scottish Premiership will not impact on the proposed start dates of the respective league competitions but will give sufficient time to reinforce protocols, educate players and make sure of the ability of clubs in the lower divisions to conform.”
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