Mclachlan lifts lid on Pompey Trust resignation

Scott Mclachlan has quit the Pompey Supporters' Trust board in the aftermath of Michael Eisner's ownership approval.
Scott MclachlanScott Mclachlan
Scott Mclachlan

The 48-year-old has stood down from his position a year early to enable an extra seat to be contested at the next Trust elections.

Mclachlan was in his second spell on the Trust board, continuing an involvement which began in 2010.

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However, following the shareholder rubberstamping of the Tornante investment group’s takeover, he has decided to walk away.

He said: ‘I thought it was best to step down ahead of the elections rather than coasting for a year and not really contributing anything to the Trust.

‘It means we could now get two or three new faces on the board, which can only be a good thing.

‘In particular, I would like to see more younger people and an increase in females. As we know, football is very much a white middle-aged man’s domain.

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‘It has been an interesting seven years and when some personal details were recently posted on a Pompey fans’ forum that was kind of the final straw.

‘It’s difficult when people are doing that sort of thing when you are already in a situation when you don’t know whether you can contribute positively to the Trust going forward.

‘A few people out there don’t want to debate and the easiest way to stop my point of view is by claiming I am not allowed to say things because I sit on the Trust board.

‘Apart from being unfair, it is untrue. As long as I am not completely out of order I could say what I liked, obviously backed up by facts.

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‘I don’t disagree with the Eisner ownership – what I’ve been upset about and in disagreement with is the way negotiations took place.

‘We didn’t have the strength of negotiation position we should have as principal shareholder and there was a missed opportunity there.

‘Having met the Eisner family and spent a couple of hours in their company, they are all very agreeable people.

‘However, they will not be throwing money at it, so I don’t see it as much different from how the club is currently being run.

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‘I’m not shy in saying things, but would count everyone on the Trust board as a friend and have the utmost respect for all I have worked with.’

Mclachlan served as the Trust spokesman during his first spell and later helped oversee the Next Generations youth group.