Vandals will not wreck our club

0 - 0 • Published 17 Jun 2009 18:22

"SCUM" vandals who caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to Keanie Park will not get the better of Burgh boss George Walker.

The gaffer had a nasty shock on Saturday evening when he walked into his beloved club"s ground only to notice the full pavilion terrace had been torn down.

A Strathclyde Police spokesman has confirmed a criminal investigation is now under way to discover who is responsible for the attack, which also left glass strewn across the pitch.

And this latest set-back is another blow for the club who were looking to plan for the new season when the louts struck.

Walker told Gazette Sport: 'It"s a nightmare, an absolute shocker caused by a shower of scum. The thing is, we let these guys come into the park and sit and have a carry on as long as they don"t do any damage, then they cause this.

'The guy from the fire brigade was up to have a look and he reckoned there must have been a fair number of them up on the roof to cause it to collapse.

'Not having any money, seeing all our top quality players leave in recent seasons, being relegated to the bottom tier, and now this. It"s another kick in the teeth'.

Keanie Park has been a magnet for vandals in the past, but had managed to avoid any serious incidents since the dugouts were trashed two years ago.

And with pre-season training to start back in two week"s time, Walker is looking to local businesses to dig deep to help the Burgh in their hour of need.

He added:'Hopefully we can get it sorted and use local sponsorship to help get the terraced roof fixed next week.

'The players start back on June 27 and we would like it all fixed by then.

'We will now need to hope local businesses can help out, but our heads are not down, not by a long shot'.

It is believed that the attack took place some time between Friday evening (June 12) and early Saturday (June 13).

Strathclyde police urge anyone with any information to come forward by contacting them on 01505404000 or on Crimestoppers on 0800555111.

On the playing side, the club has confirmed it will play a friendly match against Scottish Cup finalists Clydebank on Wednesday July 22.

Before this, on Saturday June 27, the team will meet back for the start of pre-season training.

And in a ploy akin to senior side Clyde, the gaffer has extended an open invitation to any local talent to come along and try out for a spot in the team.

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This article appeared in The Gazette 17 Jun 09

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