John McGlynn: 'Fans would flock back to an SPL without Celtic in it'

Hearts boss John McGlynn thinks fans would flood back to SPL clubs if the league did not have runaway title favourites Celtic.

The top tier remains close this season, with traditional title challengers Rangers not competing.

Hearts are just five points off second place despite an indifferent run of form and McGlynn believes that fans would pack out stadiums if they thought their team stood a chance of lifting the SPL trophy come May.

He said: “How many fans would think they could win the league if Celtic weren’t in it at this stage? All fans would.

“That would cause great excitement and I think it would bring fans back to the game, at the lower clubs.

“If you look at the rest of us outside Rangers and Celtic, we’d all fill our stadiums if we thought we’d realistically have a chance of winning the league.”

The Tynecastle manager admitted that the vital cash from television revenue would be up in the air in such a hypothetical situation but said the prospect of an SPL without either Celtic or Rangers would be an intriguing one.

He added: “It would only be if it continued getting TV coverage because the fans would come back to the game, that’s an absolute certainty.

“However I can’t tell you the financial value of TV packages.”

VIDEO: John McGlynn: ‘Dundee United haven’t suddenly become a one man band’

Related articles

People who read this story also read