Leeann Dempster: Hibs legacy, SFA ambitions and being 'in love' with Queen's Park
- Published
Leeann Dempster and Queen's Park are heading for Scottish League 1
Leeann Dempster had offers from English clubs before making the surprise switch from Hibernian to Queen's Park as chief executive in January, she has revealed.
Dempster, 50, has no regrets about ending her 13 years in the top flight and says it was she who approached Queen's Park, who have just won Scottish League 2.
"I am delighted at Queen's Park at the moment - I'm in love with this club," the former Motherwell chief executive told BBC Scotland.
Dempster's appointment came during a historic time for the Spiders.
The Glasgow club, famously the last amateurs to be playing in the Scottish senior set-up, began the transition to professionalism in January 2020, last month moved out of Hampden Park after selling the national stadium to the Scottish FA and on Tuesday clinched the title and promotion to League 1.
Dempster was linked with the chief executive post at the SFA but is now setting out her ambitions for the promoted Spiders and their new stadium.
'Hibs were in a good place - I had done my bit'
Dempster explains that the takeover of Hibs by American businessman Ron Gordon in 2019 was the catalyst for her decision to end her six years at Easter Road.
"I probably saw it as my job to make sure the transition was as seamless as it could be, but you get to a point where you need a bit of freshness and they need a bit of freshness," she said.
"I had lots of opportunities to leave Hibs and do other things. I got the chance to speak to a couple of clubs in England - one really interesting one and a league format in a different country as well.
Hibs are well placed to finish third in this season's Scottish Premiership
"But Queen's Park kept rattling away at the back of my head as it was in Glasgow and I haven't worked in Glasgow for a long time. I looked at it and thought that was a fantastic club and I could add something to it, so I was just really brazen and phoned them up rather than being headhunted this time.
"Hibs are in a good place. The academy's in a great place. It felt to me that, if I was leaving Hibs, I could leave with a clear conscience - I had done my bit."
Jack Ross' Edinburgh side have this season reached the League Cup semi-finals, are sitting third in the Premiership and, on Saturday, face her other former club Motherwell in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
"I cannot speak highly enough of that group of players," said Dempster. "They are incredible - what they've done for the club on and off the pitch, under the circumstances, is nothing short of remarkable."
Lesser Hampden not ready for new season
Queen's Park are likely to be one of the few full-time teams in League 1
Dempster's time at her new club has not been without its teething problems, despite a majestic 18-game unbeaten league run that only came to an end on Friday when Ray McKinnon's side lost 1-0 at home Stranraer three days after clinching the title.
That came at Falkirk Stadium, which became their temporary home after tenure at Hampden came to an end in March and with redevelopment work at Lesser Hampden halted because of a legal dispute with developers.
Asked if Queen's Park would be at Lesser Hampden in time for the start of their season in League 1, she replies that it is "highly unlikely" and that there is "an agreement in place" for a new temporary home.
Despite admitting to "lofty aspirations" for Queen's Park, not just as a football side but as a community club, Dempster is quick to stress that next season is likely to be one of "consolidation" despite the likelihood they will be one of only a few full-time teams in the division.
"I don't want to be giving mixed messages that say we don't want to be promoted and we're not really interested in winning - we are just interested in developing the players," she said. "But I don't want to go hell for leather to make the Championship, not be ready for the Championship and be relegated again."
Just as important for Dempster is developing the club's academy in a way she thinks Hibs are now benefitting from, finding a training base and tapping into Queen's Park's rich history to improve links with the local community and local authorities.
"I did not come into this job with a brief to get into the Premiership, but I think, inevitably, if we do the right things, it will be possible over time to travel through the leagues," she suggested.
'Guys at SFA capable of reforming game'
There had been media speculation that Dempster could succeed Stewart Regan when he left his role as SFA chief executive in 2018.
"If it had come towards me at the time and, I think if I had initiated it, it possibly could have come towards me, or at least a possibility to have a conversation," she said. "But, at the time, the challenges of the SFA and SPFL and the narrative of the Scottish game probably wasn't the right time for me either."
Dempster still thinks change is needed within the governing bodies but does not "think I will be involved in terms of working at or for the SFA or SPFL".
"Most people will tell you I don't play well with others in as much as I like to get things done quick and be decisive, but equally I wouldn't mind fiddling around the edges from time to time and giving them ideas," she adds.
"I think the guys at the SFA at the minute are well capable of reforming the game. My whole project now is Queen's Park I think for the long and foreseeable future."