David Mackinnon Interview

New Commercial Director David Mackinnon answered your questions, along with some others, for the website today. The extended interview makes for encouraging and exciting reading…

Will your job be done on a part-time or full-time basis? – Initially I have given the Club a commitment to a minimum of three days a week, but in my first few days at the club I’ve realised that for the foreseeable future that will be extended. It’s a full-time job and it will get my full attention until certain procedures and practices are brought into the club to improve the overall set-up, especially on the financial side off the field.

What qualifications and previous experience do you have that you feel will help you? – My career has been – 20 years a professional footballer and numerous years in business. 14 of the years as a footballer were in a full-time capacity but I suffered a knee injury and had to go part-time for the other 6 years. It was during this time that I entered the business community. Laterally, I was Operations Director and Commercial Director of a £20M + turnover company with 800 employees.

You met the Board on Thursday, how did that go? – It was very positive. I was given an opportunity by Billy Carmichael and Gerry Dunn to have a look at the Commercial Operation of the club, and I made some proposals and a presentation to the board. They are very positive, as I am, about taking things forward.

What are your initial impressions of Alan Kernaghan and the players? – I watched the St.Mirren game and I was greatly impressed by the commitment of the players. Alan is a very positive and experienced player and I’m sure he is going to bring that into management. His professionalism and commitment to Clyde is impressive. The playing side, in my opinion, is in very good hands.

After visiting Broadwood as a guest for the St.Mirren game, what are your impressions of Broadwood on match day? – You can’t look at one item of the day in the set-up of the Club in isolation. It has to be one major picture thinking about a visit to Broadwood as an occasion. Supporters that come need something to galvanise them to get here early and something to get them interested in the Club. That may be the shop, or one of the other ideas we have for pre-match activities specifically for supporters. We will also be looking at the transport links because I think that’s very important. We have a plan, and once we’re able to ensure that we can deliver that plan, we’ll share it with the supporters.

How hopeful are you of generating extra media coverage for Clyde? – Because of my media connections I have already spoken to influential people within the media and I’d ask supporters to see how things develop within the next couple of weeks. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised about the increase in media coverage. Bob McPherson is also here and he has good contacts within the media. I think it’s all about accessibility. When I’ve spoken to people in the media and told them about all the wonderful things that are going on at Clyde, for instance the Youth team in Germany, they didn’t know about them. Alan Kernaghan is very aware of the influence the media can have in the club and he’s on board with driving that forward. One thing I believe in is Partnerships and we need to create one with the Press.

Have you got any plans to deal with the problem regarding replica strips? – I am acutely aware of the problems with replica strips. We have to look at the situation, and we’re currently putting in a lot of effort to see exactly where we are with them. There’s been a problem with the supplier, and we are thinking about a number of initial initiatives that will maybe solve some problems in the short term. We will look at the longer term options separately. I wanted to buy one, so if anyone has a spare XL strip they can let me know!

How do you feel about getting the players out into the community (i.e. schools)? – We’ve got 8 youth teams and some tremendous coaches. I spoke to John Bean on the phone from Germany, and I’ll be speaking to him when he gets back about how I can help him get towards his objectives and the Club’s objectives. I know there is a desire, especially from Alan Kernaghan, to get out into the community and speak to people but it has to be co-ordinated and properly targeted so we have the best use of resources. Everything we do will be structured properly so we get the right results. Going back to partnerships, there are major opportunities to forge partnerships with not just the local community, but with the supporters in general and where they are from.

How about giving away free tickets to schools, a scheme that has been tried before but didn’t work? – A lot of people I have spoken to have said that the Club has tried things before and they haven’t worked. If something fails I feel it’s important to analyse why it failed. A free ticket idea might be a great scheme, but maybe hasn’t been structured properly in the past. We’re going to revisit all areas to try and generate interest in the Club.

What would you view as progress by the end of the season, especially in terms of commercial income? – We’ve made projections on what income can be generated by commercial activities and in an ideal world we would achieve that, but realistically there are lead in times for initiatives. Between now and the end of the season it’s about getting a good structure in place where we do have a good offer and we can develop income. We will bring in some income this season but the majority will start coming in from next season onwards.

What are your plans for generating local support from Cumbernauld? – This ties in with the previous question about the community. You can go out and try and generate support but unless the product is good, and the reason for people to come to a game is there and carried out professionally, then it can fall down. Again, it’s about the bigger picture. One of the most important things is the offer when people come to Broadwood stadium. Supporters like to congregate and talk to other fans about the team, which they can’t do at the moment. We’re looking at how we can bring people into areas in the stand before the game and make them feel comfortable. Also, the performance on the pitch brings people in – success breeds success. The Club on the playing side is going the right way and are progressing.

What are your plans for the Club shop? – Bob McPherson and Gerry Dunn are getting involved in that at the moment, and they have definite plans to create a more professional offer, which ties in with our overall strategy.

What about a “Clyde Credit Card”? – To be honest I don’t know enough about it, but if Clyde can benefit from it we’ll look into it.

Are you keen to interact with the fans and build a relationship with them? – The backing of the fans is vital; all our plans would fail if they weren’t on board. I’d like to talk to them and listen to them. The Soccer Sevens is a great idea – if nothing else it will allow people to have a kick at me!

Is there anything else you’d like to say? – The major thing I want to achieve for the Club is to make all partners of Clyde FC – sponsors, supporters, players, media, suppliers, the community, Councils, services, everyone – proud to be associated with Clyde FC. It’s all about listening to people and everyone has a part to play. The first stage of that plan is to distribute a questionnaire to everyone asking specific questions, which will give us a better picture of what people want. It’s not going to be an overnight success, it’ll be a structured step-by-step process but we’ve already started to make progress. As I’ve said earlier partnerships are of major importance, and I have already been greatly encouraged by the eagerness among partners to support Clyde FC. For example in three days I’ve had three meetings with Peter Eadie, General Manager of Broadwood Stadium. We have already agreed and planned three initiatives which will benefit the Club and the Stadium, with improved supporter offer, improved communication, and improved corporate offer and income. In my opinion and experience, communication is the key driver in bringing willing partnerships together. If you don’t align their goals and benefits with your own with discussion, then how will you ever succeed in maximising potential? Over the coming weeks and months we will focus in doing the same with all partners of Clyde FC.