By Amanda Little

Last updated 13:41, Tuesday, 01 July 2008

THIRTY years ago Henry McLelland was selling pies on match days to help Annan Athletic earn a crust.

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Finishing touches: General secretary Alan Irving and chairman Henry McLelland spruce up Galabank

Now the Galabank chairman hopes the ambitious minnows can climb on board the gravy train by joining the Scottish Football League.

Annan will discover on Thursday if they will replace Gretna in the SFL after their border rivals went out of business last month when owner Brooks Mileson withdrew his funding.

The ground has had a final lick of paint, funding has been secured for new floodlights and a budget has been set aside for new players.

Annan are vying with Cove Rangers, Spartans, Edinburgh City and Preston Athletic for the vacant spot, and hopes are high they will win the race for a Division Three place when SFL club chairmen vote for a new member club at Hampden Park on Thursday.

It’s the second time they have tried to join the senior set-up after a failed attempt in 1999 when they missed out to Elgin City and Peterhead, and McLelland is optimistic this will be Annan’s moment.

The long-serving chairman no longer serves up pies and bovril at the food kiosk – he is now club supremo who has been overseeing their application to replace Gretna.

He said: “It has always been our destiny to get into the SFL and I truly believe this is our time – and I have right from the start.

“No matter what people say about Gretna, they gave the Scottish League a profile in this area and brought massive media coverage.

“They proved their was an appetite for Scottish League football in this area and I think we have strong claims for another club on the border.

“Queen of the South are in Division One and it would be great if we could play at Division Three level, and give a different level of player an opportunity.

“We’re getting messages from support from all over Annan, Carlisle and Cumbria, Gretna and Dumfries. That’s the area we also attract players and supporters from and it would be great if they could see Scottish League football.”

Gretna’s shocking demise, which saw them go to the wall with debts of nearly £4 million after Mileson pulled the plug on the club he financed to three successive championships, has done nothing to scare Annan away from joining the big-time.

Sound financial planning, a sense of realism and a determination to keep their feet on the ground has put Annan on a firm footing, and McLelland is confident they can sustain SFL football without ever having to try to find a rich benefactor.

The 49-year-old chairman, a health and safety manager at the nearby Shasun Pharma Solutions plant, said: “Joining the Scottish League would not be a financial gamble because we have always operated to a budget.

“I would be very surprised if other applicants could put forward a set of accounts as good as ours.

“We have a thriving social club at the ground and every penny made there is for Annan Athletic. That is the foundation of the club and it provides us with a steady revenue.

“Every week of the year we know we have a good income, plus we also have sponsorship, advertising and gate money which supplements the club.

“The budget we set at the start of every season is tight but we only spend what we can afford. We are sitting comfortably in the black and joining the Scottish League would not take us into the red.

“The bottom club in Division Three last year got £55,000 from the SFL so there is funding available. We would also expect an increase in sponsorship, advertising and gate money because of the prestige of being in the SFL.”

Since missing out in 1999, Annan have made huge strides to improve Galabank to make themselves serious contenders to join the SFL.

They splashed £255,000 to create a 500-seater stand and all-weather floodlit training pitch, added terracing right around the ground, built perimeter walls and improved the pitch.

All that remains to be done to ensure the ground reaches stadium criteria is to install floodlights – at a cost of £85,000.

With a midweek CIS Cup tie looming next month, it is a priority, but they already have funding in place and are confident of having them erected for the start of the campaign.

If they don’t, Queen of the South have offered them the chance to use Palmerston Park as a contingency measure.

McLelland said: “We’ve solid support from Queen of the South, and I think we will get in.

“The reality is that as far as the ground is concerned, we’ve had little to do before the SFL did an inspection – a little bit of paint here and there and the odd weed to pull out.”

ALittle@cngroup.co.uk