Complaints as queueing Morton fans miss kick-off in big game

Frustrated fans were caught in lengthy queues which stretched all the way up Sinclair Street before the Championship clash with rivals Partick Thistle.

Some supporters said they were standing waiting for half an hour to get in, despite the fact the stadium was less than half full with a crowd of just over 3,500.

It's not the first time there have been complaints about the electronic turnstiles and entry access to the ground, and fans insist there are not enough gates.

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Morton’s general manager Dale Pryde-Macdonald has told the Telegraph that the club will now look at the possibility of using hand-held scanners to relieve congestion.

Posting on a Morton fans' forum online, one user wrote: “The turnstiles need to be redone in the summer, they're not fit for purpose.

“I honestly dread us drawing Celtic or Rangers at home in the cup.

“It would be absolute carnage and no end of bad publicity.”

Another added: “I joined the queue at 2.45 and didn't get into the ground til 3 minutes after kick off.

“Two more turnstiles is probably all that would be needed to resolve most of the issues faced.

Mr Pryde-Macdonald, who previously worked at Premiership outfit Ross County, admitted that Saturday’s fixture had been a challenge for the club.

He said: “I went out to check Sinclair Street at 2.40pm and the queue wasn’t too bad, maybe 100-150 people queuing, which is reasonable at that time.

“I went back out at 2.50pm and the queue was right up Sinclair Street.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m deflecting anything at all but that volume of people turning up 15 minutes before a game is always going to create issues.

“Having had a similar issue at Ross County when Rangers and Celtic came to town there is little you can do in that sense, although I admit we should have put some messaging out around ‘arriving early’, which is a learning point for going forward.

“Hand-held scanners is certainly something we are going to have to look into for the home end but again this will be directed by our safety team.

“There is no doubt on days like Saturday it would relieve some of the issues and we need to add that as a reflection point for upcoming matches.”

Mr Pryde-MacDonald added that the financial implications of fan-ownership gave Morton less wiggle room when it came to investing in projects like adding more turnstiles.

He added: “Our budgets are very small and leave little room for manoeuvre.

“For us to invest in a capital infrastructure project such as adding more turnstiles would need time, planning and funding which currently isn’t available, and if we are being realistic would be a long time to get through planning, etcetera. 

“It’s essentially a perspective issue as well - how many times do we get 3,500 plus supporters in the stadium? The true answer is not enough.

“We are not there right now but hopefully sometime soon we can be and in the meantime that is where the valid point on handheld scanners comes in.

“It’s also important to add that the infrastructure we have does meet the demand, it is a case of executing its use better than at present.

“There are definitely improvements we can make, there is no hiding away from that.

“Going forward we want to be better. We want to make accessibility easier when we do have big crowds, but the reality is that we will have to find short-term solutions to these long-term issues right now in this moment.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day but hopefully we will get the time to improve upon where we are right now, and supporters will be able to see the direction of travel the club wants to move in over the coming weeks, months and years.”