Jim Ballantyne has been Airdrie United chairman since 2002

By John Barnes

Airdrie United chairman Jim Ballantyne says he will "rip the club apart" to try to bring success back to the Excelsior Stadium.

The Lanarkshire team were relegated from the First Division, losing out to Brechin City in the play-offs.

"We're kind of ripping the inside of the club apart just to see where we go," Ballantyne told BBC Scotland.

"We've got decisions to take - will we go part-time, what size of squad will we have?"

Ballantyne revealed that last season's costs - exacerbated by the poor winter weather - had forced him into a radical re-think of the club's future, with the club set to have no players on its books by this time next week.

"Last year was just financial disaster. It was terrible, so we have to make sure whatever we do this year we don't leave ourselves as exposed," added Ballantyne.

Last year was just financial disaster Airdrie Utd chairman Jim Ballantyne

"It was pretty much weather-related, but, when you've got three home games on a Monday, a Wednesday and a Saturday, you can imagine the combined crowd is very, very small.

"But you still have to pay the wages all the way through the winter when there were no games on, with no income coming in.

"We live in Scotland, we have to deal with the weather and be better prepared this year and that's why we're taking a fair bit of time before making any decisions."

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