Andy Barrowman hopes Raith Rovers’ financial results silence the ‘lazy’ critics who have claimed the club has been guilty of buying success this season.
The Stark’s Park outfit revealed impressive half-season financial results that show they are on course to make a profit in the first year under new ownership.
It is an impressive turnaround for a club that CEO Barrowman insists was ‘failing’ when a local consortium, spearheaded by former Kelty Hearts chief Dean Mckenzie, assumed control in May.
For the period covering June 1 to December 31 last year, the Kirkcaldy club managed to increase income by £601,701 whilst costs went up by £126,937.
One number that jumped out from the others was related to spending on ‘football operations’.
Rovers say they have shelled out £983,972 compared to £919,743 for the same period in 2022.
A modest seven-per-cent rise appears to shoot down those who have accused the Championship challengers of ‘throwing money’ at the campaign in a Gretna-style attempt to reach the promised land of the top-flight.
Barrowman said: “Some football fans are lazy a little bit. They want to find a reason why teams can turn things around and be good.
“The easy one is always to stay that a club is throwing money at it.
‘The truth’
“We always knew the truth behind it – and these figures hopefully put that to bed.
“Yes, we have invested, we’re not shying away from that. We’ve got a good budget, but it’s certainly nothing like what I hear and read people saying it is.
“You even hear other managers and clubs commenting on Raith’s budget.
“I think when they look at these figures they’ll understand it’s not as simple as that.”
With Rovers sitting a point off the top of the Championship, he added: “We will always have a good budget, we’ll always back the manager and always try to put a competitive team out on the pitch.
“But what I hope we’ll always be able to do is get good value for that. We won’t waste money.
“Trust me, I know every single pound that’s spent at this football club and I’ll continue to be like that.
“That’s the same for when we’re signing a player or we’re getting a new printer for the office.
‘Squeeze value’
“We really try to squeeze value out of every single pound we spend.”
Barrowman is adamant Raith did not release their figures to boast of the improvements they had managed in such a short space of time.
More, it was seen as a ‘thank you’ to those who had backed the club under the new regime.
And, also, as a way of showing the positive effect others have had on the club.
He added: “The purpose behind sharing it was not to pat ourselves on the back or thinking we’ve achieved what we want to do.
“It was more just to show things in black and white to everyone in the local community – the supporters and the businesses – who have got behind us.
“These figures shows what it means, they show the effect they can have on the club and how we operate.
“It’s only been six months but it’s been important.
“This business was failing. Forget what was happening on the pitch, as a business it was failing and we can’t shy away from that.
‘Remarkable’
“So, to turn things around and see the increases across all sectors has been remarkable.
“It was just a thank you to everyone who has made that happen.
“We’ve not done it on our own, it’s the fans and local businesses who have got behind us and believed in what we wanted to do.
“We hope it gathers confidence in our supporters and the local business community, and shows people if they are putting money into our club that it will be used wisely.”
