MOTHERWELL chairman Brian McCafferty acknowledges it was a relief that the Steelmen managed to stave off relegation last season.

But he has told how the new sound financial plan in place at Fir Park meant it would not have been armageddon at the club if Rangers had got the better of them.

Well came to within two games of seeing their three-decade spell in the Scottish top flight come to and an end when they were plunged into a Premiership play-off battle with Rangers.

It was a worrying time for supporters who over the years have watched similar-sized clubs such as Falkirk and Dunfermline go down without re-emerging.

But even though Motherwell eventually battered Rangers 6-1 on aggregate, McCafferty has told SportTimes that there was no place for panic in the boardroom at the prospect of life in the Championship and the financial implications that would have brought.

He said: “We carried out a survey just over a year ago and it was quite clear that what the fans want apart from the ownership of the club was to play at the highest level. That was an indication that people will turn out if we are playing in the top league.

“As far as the club are concerned, we prepare for every eventuality. If we had gone down we would have been alright because the business plan is in place and the financials are strong now.

“Obviously we didn’t want to do that, but if we did it would have been okay.”

Around 7,000 Motherwell fans were inside Fir Park to watch their team beat Rangers 3-0 on the day in the play-off second leg.

It was a figure around double the regular home crowd at the Lanarkshire ground last season, and McCafferty is hoping the atmosphere, performance and result can be used as a catalyst for growth among the support.

He said: “We got an historic result at the end of last season and people will remember those two games for a long, long time. That’s the attraction of going to Fir Park.

“The fact we played really well along with getting a great result will hopefully encourage more fans to come along to games.”