My response to the clamour for Stewart Regan to resign in the wake of the Michael O’Neill debacle today was a wry smile
The time for the ex-cricket administrator to clear his desk at Hampden was in the summer of 2012.
Then, along with his co-conspirator at the SPL Neil Doncaster, he attempted to parachute the basket of assets into the top flight in Scotland.
Indeed, the SPL chap stated at the time that “…there is no mechanism for what we are trying to achieve…”
In other words, the people entrusted to run the national game in Scotland were making it up as they were going along.
That was a resigning issue for both of them.
However, Regan’s transgressions against sporting integrity and good governance made him the greater offender.
The SFA is the governing body for the professional game in Scotland and the SPL was merely a competition organiser.
In terms of governance and eligibility issues, the buck stopped with Regan.
Back then he proved to anyone who was paying attention that he put the Ibrox brand above the wellbeing of the national game in Scotland.
The late great Turnbull Hutton called him out publicly on the steps of Hampden.
In private the Raith Rovers man was even more scathing of the chap who used to run Yorkshire Cricket.
Therefore, failure to recruit the number one target for the job of Scotland manager is a rather minor transgression compared to what has already been done.
In 2012 Stewart Regan allowed Charles of Normandy and his shadowy backers to set up a new football club at Ibrox.
When the full story of the “onerous contracts” at Sevco is fully revealed then I believe Mr Regan will have some tough questions to answer.
Quite simply I believe that there was insufficient due diligence carried out into the people behind Sevco Scotland Limited.
It is my settled view that Mr Regan was desperate for A Rangers, any Rangers, to play in season 2012/2013.
The correct course of action would have been for a pause in the process to allow for due diligence to be carried out.
Of course, that would have shown to the world that this was a new football club at Ibrox and not the one established in 1872.
In my opinion, in his rush to maintain the continuation myth at Ibrox Mr Regan was guilty of an abdication of his responsibilities as the head of a governing body.
Now, that IS a resigning issue.
There is also the role that Regan played in the awarding of the UEFA license to Rangers (1872-2012) for their last season in existence.
That is another massive failure of sporting governance that can be laid at the door of the ex-Yorkshire Cricket chap.
Consequently, I cannot get that exercised about the Michael O’Neill saga.
Even if my national football affiliations were at Hampden my response would be the same nonplussed shrug.
I stated on Twitter yesterday that the SFA had managed to make the FAI look competent and after Saipan 2002, that’s quite an achievement!
Personally, I think the Irishman has made the correct decision to turn down the SFA.
Moreover, I think he did so for much the same reasons as Derek McInnes said no to the zombie club that Regan allowed into the game in 2012.
