St Johnstone has to hold firm on the Celtic ticket decision.

St Johnstone have made the right decision on giving Celtic fans more tickets next season. They have announced it. But there is speculation that anger from the fans will push them towards a change of mind. This would be mad.

They have spelled out what this means for the club: more money for the manager to spend. To be honest, if fans want to be arsey and demand that the club changes policy, they will only be hurting themselves and their own team.

And for what? The club should hold firm.

The club should be smart.

There are moments in football when common sense walks into the room and you can almost hear the collective gasp from people who are far too used to nonsense. This is one of those moments. St Johnstone have made the right decision, and deep down everyone with a functioning brain knows it.

They have looked at the reality of modern football. They have looked at their finances, their support, and the economic landscape Scottish clubs are trying to survive in. Then they chose the smart thing and the good thing. I applauded them for it.

That deserves praise, not outrage.

The club have already spelled it out clearly enough for anyone willing to listen instead of rage for the sake of rage. This affects the budget for the football team, both in the positive and in the negative sense whatever way they go.

It’s more money for the squad if they sell all those seats. More money for the future of the football club. More money to try and compete.

What exactly are they supposed to turn that down for?

Pride? Spite? Point-scoring? Empty symbolism? Fan anger based on what?

Sometimes Scottish football behaves like a man standing in the rain refusing an umbrella because he wants to make a dramatic statement about the weather.

I can feel the irritation in my bones when I hear supporters demanding that the club reverses this policy out of pure stubbornness. My Ginger Witch instincts kick in immediately, because I can smell self-destruction masquerading as principle from a mile away.

Forgive me for sounding daft; I thought having the strongest possible football team was the point? Football fans demanding the club weaken the team is one of the strangest things I’ve ever heard in my life.

There is a difference between protecting your club and actively harming it. If fans force the club into backing down, who suffers? Not the clubs with bigger resources. Not wealthy owners elsewhere. Not television companies.

St Johnstone suffer. Their manager suffers. Their squad suffers and their ambitions suffer. Our fans suffer as well by continuing to be locked out of away games.

And for what? To keep seats empty? To turn away paying customers? To reject money Scottish football desperately needs? That is not defiance. That is economic self-harm and it damages the club as well to no-one’s benefit.

The reality is brutally simple. Scottish clubs outside the very top bracket do not have rivers of money flowing through the doors. Every pound matters. Every extra ticket matters. Every commercial advantage matters.

Clubs cannot afford to operate on wounded pride and fantasy economics. Not in this climate. Not when survival and competitiveness are balanced on such fine margins.

I actually respect St Johnstone for treating their supporters like adults instead of feeding them comforting nonsense. They have effectively said: this decision benefits the football club. It strengthens our position. It gives the manager more tools. It gives us more flexibility. It helps us compete. That is leadership.

Sometimes the sensible option remains the sensible option, even when some people stamp their feet about it.

And the thing is, I understand football. Football is emotion.

It is tribal. It is irrational. It is passion roaring through your veins under floodlights while your heart pounds against your ribs. I live for that feeling. But when the gates close and the accounts are done, reality still exists.

Reality says extra revenue matters. Reality says clubs need investment. Reality says managers need backing. Reality says empty seats generate absolutely nothing except photographs for social media arguments.

I look at some of the empty stands we have seen elsewhere in Scottish football and, honestly, it feels absurd. Thousands of seats sitting there useless while clubs complain about finances. The contradiction practically screams into the afternoon air.

Meanwhile, St Johnstone have decided they would rather fill seats, grow revenue and strengthen the team. Good. They should stand firm on it.

Football supporters always say they want ambition from their clubs. Well, ambition sometimes looks like difficult decisions. It sometimes looks like pragmatism. It sometimes means swallowing pride and recognising opportunity when it arrives at your doorstep carrying a wallet.

And if that extra money helps bring in a better player, improves squad depth, funds wages, strengthens recruitment, or gives the manager more room to manoeuvre, then this decision becomes even more justified.

I think some people forget that football clubs are not abstract political statements. They are living institutions trying to survive in an increasingly unforgiving game.

Sentiment alone does not pay wages. Fury does not finance transfers. Empty seats do not build stronger squads. Money does. That is the truth of it.

So yes, St Johnstone should hold firm. They should ignore the noise and stand by a decision rooted in intelligence and financial reality. Sometimes the smartest thing a football club can do is refuse to be dragged backwards by emotional chaos.

And honestly, I hope more clubs in Scotland start learning that lesson before pride leaves them staring at empty stands and emptier bank accounts.

Choose The CelticBlog as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.