St Johnstone “share the frustration” of their fans that the SPFL have not produced more League Cup semi-final tickets.
The Perth club have long since sold out the whole of the 3,300 capacity Roseburn Stand for the January 30 clash with Hibs at Tynecastle, and are seeking up to 450 tickets in the Main Stand.
When the allocation for both clubs was originally settled it was stated that the Saints’ section could extend to the Main Stand Block N Upper if the demand was there.
However, this is now proving problematic and, with only a week-and-a-half to go to the match, the situation is yet to be resolved.
A statement from the Perth club read: “The club are aware of the frustration felt by the fans who, to date, do not have tickets for the League Cup semi-final against Hibernian FC at Tynecastle and are waiting to hear if any more will become available.
“We wish to assure those fans that the club is in daily dialogue with the SPFL on the matter.
“The club shares the frustration that with only 10 days remaining before the match we are still awaiting a definitive outcome.
“We have been advised that security and safety matters at the stadium – specifically segregation are under review with the appropriate authorities.
“The outcome of this review will determine whether additional tickets can be provided and we can only hope that the decision will be made with little further delay, allowing our supporters to make travel arrangements if tickets do become available.”
Saints fans have vented their anger on social media, among them season ticket holder Gordon Muir, who said: “It is disgraceful. Football is crying out for fans to attend games and staggering incompetence from the SPFL means punters will be turned away.”
Meanwhile, with the Michael O’Halloran to Rangers saga dragging on, Ibrox boss Mark Warburton is sticking with his stance of not speaking about individual players.
He did, however, say he was “very hopeful” he would bring in a player before Monday’s game against Morton.
“I’m very hopeful we will do (bring in a player),” he said. “We’re making good progress. If we find the quality that we think improves us then we will make that move, but sometimes to secure that quality takes time.
“The important thing is not to take players for players’ sake. Our squad is more than good enough right now to achieve what we want to achieve.
“It’s really important as a club that we do our homework and determine what we think is the right valuation. We could be wrong but we will determine what we think is the right valuation and stick to that.
“If there’s some small flexibility then that’s up to the owner and the board. But it’s really important to know your market and recognise what represents value. If you can find the value then great but if not then don’t be panicked into buying someone that’s too expensive.”