If Gers can survive so can Hearts READ ALL ABOUT IT ... Kevin Kyle was back at Gers to promote new book By KENNY MILLAR LIQUIDATION could yet follow administration for broken Hearts. But Kevin Kyle reckons they can follow Rangers’ road to redemption. The former Jambo was at Ibrox for the first six months of their ‘rebirth’ in Division Three, when supporters stuck by manager Ally McCoist and his new-look team. Kyle is in no doubt the Tynecastle punters will answer the call if the time comes too. He said: “I think the Hearts fans will rally round. “You expected it to happen with Rangers. They have 50,000 at most home games. “I’d like to think Hearts fans will get behind them, if they do end up going down the Rangers route and have new owners in, like Rangers had with Charles Green who promised to get them back. “Green made sure the fans got behind them. “I hear there are a few interested parties so hopefully they won’t end up going down the same route as Rangers. “Scottish football would suffer. And it has suffered enough with Rangers being in the Third Division. “If that vote was held again now, I think a lot of chairmen would change their minds. “When you watch Scottish football as a kid, you do not see the financial side of things — you go along on a Saturday afternoon excited to see a game and support your team. “As you get older and more involved in football, you start to understand the money side of the game. “For clubs of Rangers’ and Hearts’ size to be in the situation they find themselves in is absolutely astounding. “The SPL and SFA set a precedent over the way they handled the Rangers situation. “If Hearts are liquidated, will they go down the same road as Rangers and be placed in the Third Division? “We would have a situation where Hearts would be down in the Third Division and Rangers would be in the Second along with Dunfermline, who were an SPL club two seasons ago. “Scottish football is turning into a total SHAMBLES.” Rangers trudged their way to the title with more graft than craft, but Kyle insists a season of slumming it could be a blessing in disguise. He added: “The players they signed last year will be all the better for it, now they know the Rangers way. “They will be a lot brighter and better and won’t drop as many points as they did last season. It was a culture shock for Rangers. “I remember talking to Neil Alexander before it started and saying it would be great if we could go through the season undefeated and keep clean sheets in every game. “But it was so different. The first game at Peterhead, with the trek up there and the pitch, when you were taking a throw-in there were guys at the side of the park giving you high-fives or slapping you on the bum. It was surreal. “It was an experience I’ll be able to talk about and laugh about in future. “But it was an insight into what the lower leagues are really like. “When Rangers do get back to the top flight, they will be all the better for it. “As for the Second Division, my hometown team Stranraer will be in there. “Loads of people texted me when the fixtures came out, looking for tickets when Gers go to Stair Park in the second week of the season. “I had to remind them I’m no longer at the club!” Rangers hope they’re finally rid of the ghost of Craig Whyte, while there is an international search warrant for Hearts’ AWOL owner Vladimir Romanov. Hitman Kyle would like to see the so-called ‘fit and proper person’ test beefed up to prevent a repeat of what has happened to two of our biggest clubs. He added: “The SFA supposedly do a fit and proper person test with football club owners. I’d love to sit in on one of those — I think even I could pass! “The thing about administration is that players can get other clubs and new contracts. It’s the office staff who it really affects. Where are they going to get a job? “Whoever takes over Hearts has to make sure they don’t send the club in the same direction as Romanov. It’s not just killing Hearts, it’s killing Scottish football.” Looking lean and mean, Kyle is champing at the bit to find a new club for next season. Still confident that he can terrorise SPL defences, the former Scotland man just wants a chance to show any ‘injury-prone’ tag is wrong. The 32-year-old laughed: “I was going to wear a T-shirt with my phone number on it, saying I’m available. “I’m going to do some work with a fitness trainer, then phone around the SPL clubs. “I’m not asking them to sign me — just take me in, let me train and have a look at me. I still believe I have a lot to offer.” KEVIN KYLE was speaking at the launch of ‘Rangers FC — We Don’t Do Walking Away’ by Lisa Gray (Black & White, RRP £7.99 WATP NSE RTID Samuel
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 01:01:03 +0000
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