An emotional John McGlynn admitted Raith Rovers sorely underestimated the depth of feeling regarding the signing of David Goodwillie, before declaring: “I am not a bad person — I want the chance to make it right.”
McGlynn was unreserved in his regret and remorse on Thursday, fielding all questions relating to the Goodwillie debacle during a 37-minute press conference at Stark’s Park.
The Fifers’ manager confirmed that Rovers remain locked in talks with a view to annulling the striker’s two-and-a-half year contract following a chastening U-turn last week.
Nevertheless, it was too little too late for a swathe of directors, sponsors and volunteers who severed ties with Raith following the arrival of Goodwillie, found to have raped Denise Clair by a civil court judge in 2017.
And McGlynn said: “We apologise enormously for the distress that we’ve brought to our fans, our sponsors and anyone hurt. It was never our intention to do that.
“I’ve been at Raith Rovers for the best part of nine years, over two separate spells. There is no way that I would have wanted to bring the last 10 days on this football club.
“If we could turn the clock back, we’d do it in a minute. In time, we hope we can rectify the situation, build some bridges and get people back.”
‘We weren’t ready’
The move was particularly dumbfounding given the club had been warned of the potential backlash.
After being linked with the player in December, principal sponsor Val McDermid made it clear she would walk away if he was signed, while scores of supporters contacted Rovers directly to express their opposition.
Acknowledging that promotion aspirations may have blinded Raith to ‘non-footballing’ issues, McGlynn continued: “We completely underestimated the depth of the feeling.
“We did not anticipate it at all — and that is with much regret for everyone involved.
“David has played for the last five years at Clyde. We’ve been in the same league as Clyde. He’s been on the park against us and we never come across any negativity towards him.
“It’s not taken us completely by surprise, but we weren’t ready for the extent.”
The fall guy
McGlynn confirmed the decision to sign Goodwillie was ‘a collective one’ and, indeed, he has not escaped criticism, with some even suggesting that his own position had become untenable.
Asked whether he had considered walking away, he answered: “I’ve had to consider an awful lot over the last 10 days.
“But I think there is a lot of good work being done at Raith Rovers and I would like the opportunity to right the wrongs.
“If I have made one mistake, I don’t think I should be the fall guy. As a husband and a father, I understand. I get it. Some errors are bigger than others and this was an enormous error.
“But we are not bad people. I am not a bad person. I just want the chance to make it right.”
Remorse and regret
While McGlynn answered every question put to him regarding Goodwillie, the club’s directors — led by chairman John Sim — are still to make any public utterance of proper substance.
“They [the directors] share the same remorse and the same regret,” said McGlynn. “We just have to deal with the fallout and the damage that has been caused. We all hold our hands up to this.”
With the notion of a ‘fit-and-proper’ person test for footballers now being discussed in the Scottish Parliament, McGlynn was reluctant to be drawn on whether Goodwillie should be allowed to continue his career.
“That’s one for the authorities,” added McGlynn. “David was playing football up to the end of January there and nothing was said. Why should he not be able to play football two weeks later?”
Celtic ‘distraction’
Lost among this almighty mess has been the fact Rovers travel to Celtic Park on Sunday; one of the biggest occasions on their calendar and, in other circumstances, a fixture which would be the talk of Kirkcaldy.
“I’m not going to lie, it has been difficult to work with that [Goodwillie saga] in the background,” added McGlynn. “The players have been caught up in this as much as everyone else, and I apologise for that.
“But I still need to be the person who is giving them the information and the tactics, because we are going into a game with the unenviable task of trying to beat Celtic — which is an awesome task.
“I don’t know how much our individual players have been distracted.”
