Twelve months ago the name Turnbull Hutton was barely known outside of Kirkaldy let alone held up as a punters champions in the world of Scottish football.
As the so-called leaders of Scottish football at the SPL and SFA ducked for cover and tried to re-write the rule book one name emerged with respect and decency.
The straight talking Raith Rovers chairman doesn’t particularly care for Rangers or Celtic but watching the shambolic performances of the Neil ‘Armageddon’ Doncaster and Stewart ‘Social Unrest’ Regan prompted Hutton to inject some reality into the pantomime with some straight talking.
It’s unlikely that Regan or Doncaster could make their way unaided to Staks Park but on Sunday a full house and the BBC cameras will ensure that the Kirkcaldy side get some reward for their leading role in the summer of discontent.
Rather than bask in the limelight that will come the clubs’ way over the weekend Hutton would rather highlight the unstinting work being done behind the scenes to ensure that Raith are shown in the best possible light when the SPL champions roll into town.
“There’s been a huge amount of work put into this by everybody at the club,” Hutton explained. “The demands on a guy like Bob Farmer – our safety officer – and the processes we’ve had to go through with the BBC, the commercial side, and tickets, have been on a far bigger scale than we’re used to.
“The club is not geared up to handle a match of this magnitude so the staff have really had to pull out all the stops.
“It’s the cup and anything can happen, but on paper we should have no chance. Our biggest hope is that Celtic have a bad day. Maybe they won’t like the pitch, or get claustrophobia in the dressing room.
“Not one of their players will be earning less than our entire playing budget. That’s the gulf we’re talking about.
“To get a sell-out is great. It shows that if you get something out of the ordinary the fans will turn out.”
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Looking forward to it never been there should win with a couple to spare with any luck 4-0 HH
Fair play mr Hutton… Lets hope LNS has the same scruples!!!
I really hope this man and his club the best. I wish “for safety reasons” the match had to be moved to Paradise and it would sell out at 40GBP per ticket, with Raith getting 100% of the total. We can’t have enough honest people involved with the Scottish game.
Celtic 2-1 in a Nou Camp type game. Hooper to win it late on.