Scottish Professional Football League CEO of the year 2023, Steven Ferguson (Ross County FC) on leading a small club to Premiership glory

There is a significant disparity in stadium capacities between Scottish Premiership clubs like Celtic (60,000+) or Rangers (50,000+), and Ross County FC. With just over 6,500 seats at Victoria Park in Dingwall, Highland, Global Energy Stadium is the smallest stadium in the Scottish Premiership. Interestingly, the stadium has more seats than the population of the town!

Since June 2020, ex-footballer Steven Ferguson has served as CEO at Ross County FC. He has had a remarkable journey within the club, starting as a player and progressing through various roles such as player development, academy director, and first team co-manager. Last year, he was awarded the SPFL's CEO of the year.

In this episode of TicketingPodcast.com, Steven discusses the unique challenges of leading Ross County FC to excellence within the close-knit community of Dingwall. His story is not just about sports management but also about building a strong connection with fans and ensuring that the excitement of Premiership football resonates throughout the Highlands.

During the episode, Steven reveals the intricacies of football club management and shares the strategic approaches and innovative improvements that have shaped Ross County FC under his leadership. The conversation also highlights the vibrant atmosphere at the Global Energy Stadium, and the importance of a great match day experience for everyone. Steven's hands-on involvement, particularly during high-profile games against rivals like Rangers and Celtic, exemplifies the dynamic and demanding nature of his role.

In conclusion, we get a glimpse of Steven's match day experiences, comparing his time as a player to his current executive responsibilities. Moving away from superstitions to strategic thinking, Ferguson emphasises the importance of decision-making in complex situations, the power of a decisive yet adaptable approach, and the significance of setting clear and achievable goals for the club's staff.

For those involved in football management or simply fans of the beautiful game, this episode offers an opportunity to learn from one of the industry's best and even reach out to Steven directly for an exchange of ideas and experiences.

TicketingPodcast.com is powered and sponsored by TicketCo and hosted by TicketCo’s CEO, Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Stephen Ferguson is an ex-footballer who has climbed every step of the professional Scottish football ladder, from player all the way to being the club CEO of Ross County Football Club.

Speaker 1: 0:13

He was awarded CEO of the year in 2023 in Scotland, which is quite remarkable for the smallest club in the Scottish Premiership. In this episode of TicketingPodcastcom, stephen gives you an insight into how it is to run a club with 6500 seats in a city of 6500 people. Yeah, you heard right 6500 seats in a city of 6500 people. Stay put for yet another great conversation on the podcast, where remarkable people share their insights and stories. Hello everyone, thank you for tuning in on the TicketingPodcastcom. My name is Karl-Erik Moberg and I'm the host of this podcast where Ticketing experts share their stories and insights With me. Today is an ex-footballer who has climbed every step of the professional Scottish football ladder, from player via role as player development, academy director and first team co-manager, all the way to becoming the club CEO. He was awarded the CEO of the year this year Congratulations, which is quite remarkable for the smallest club in the Scottish Premiership. Please welcome, stephen Ferguson, ceo of Ross County Football Club. It's great to have you as our guest.

Speaker 2: 1:33

Pleasure to be here, Karl, and speak with you. Looking forward to it.

Speaker 1: 1:37

So very excited to hear how you won the award, but I guess it has something to do with your unique story and we'll delve into that one very soon. But first of all let's talk about the football club. Tell us about Ross County.

Speaker 2: 1:51

We're a small professional football club in Scotland, the Highlands of Scotland, and we have a pretty unique journey. 30 years ago we were accepted in the Scottish Football League and over the last 30 years we've steadily grew the football club to being the position we are at the moment, which has been 11 in the last 12 years in the top flight and competing at a level that brings Premier League football to the Highlands of Scotland, which is really important to us, it's really important to our chairman and, more importantly, it's really important for the area as well.

Speaker 1: 2:24

I mean, that's an amazing achievement and we'll dive more into the size of the club as well afterwards. But how is it to run a professional club in Dingwall?

Speaker 2: 2:33

It's a challenge, but I don't think we have any less challenges than any other club. I think everything's relative and I feel that we have challenges that other clubs don't have, but I feel we also benefit in a lot of things that maybe other clubs they have a bit more of a challenge than we do. So I think it swings around about. I think the size of our club is always going to make it a challenge and I think managing that expectation and also understanding the culture and the values of the football club and what we're actually trying to achieve is really important and sometimes takes it to more than just football.

Speaker 1: 3:06

I mean, one challenge you mentioned before we started today was that you got a little bit of snow, and I guess that's the way it is to be in the Highlands.

Speaker 2: 3:14

We get more snow than other areas of Scotland, that's true, and the Highlands is a giveaway why that's the case. But listen, we have the challenges. The challenge does it cover a pitch? We have undersoil heating and we have a groundsman that treats his pitch like his child, as every groundsman does. So our playing surface is fantastic and managed really, really well. The infrastructure to get into the Highlands and get into Dingwall in particular is the challenge. There's one way in, there's one way out, and sometimes the transport network can be the thing that brings the biggest challenge for us. And again, we're used to it. We understand that and we just need to manage that the best we can, because we can control the weather, as for sure.

Speaker 1: 3:53

True, true, that's good thinking, and the supporters of the club tell us a little bit about them.

Speaker 2: 4:00

We don't have a huge following, as you would imagine, for the size of our club and where we are geographically, but we do have a really passionate group of supporters.

Speaker 2: 4:08

We average around 2,600 season tickets. But I suppose the uniqueness of our football club is we've got 6,500 seats in the stadium and we've got 6,500 people in the town, so we do have a seat for everybody and it's one that we are really proud of. But we are a small town but we are a passionate town about football and then it's a wider area as well. So we do feel that we have a responsibility to service the whole of the Highlands as we are the team that's furthest north in the Scottish Premier League and we feel that the Highlands and Highlands are part of our fan base and it's part of our structure and we do really a huge amount of work for our community programs and outreach programs and wider community engagement to make sure that we are the club for the Highlands and everybody recognises that we all accommodate and work with them to make sure that we can all enjoy some Premier League football.

Speaker 1: 5:00

Sounds great. It sounds like no one has an excuse to be at home when you're playing.

Speaker 2: 5:05

Just being like. You know, football is not always like that, but we do pride ourselves on being that community fan-based. You know, focus on our football club because, again, our chairman invests in the football club. It's his way of putting back to the area that gave him so much. So we feel it's a win-win for everybody and we could just enjoy this period that we're in for. What's worth this and that's a lot to the area and really the fact that we do have city clubs coming up every second week that bring with them the usual entourage of supporters and supporters buses and traveling supporters. So for the area it's huge and for our football club it's huge and, like I said, it's just trying to make sure we enjoy that journey while we're on it.

Speaker 1: 5:49

Great. It's an exciting journey, for sure. Speaking of the fans, you have a spread demographics on the supporters. Right, you have lots of children, families and elderly people. Is there any gap in terms of age groups, etc? Someone you're missing or is everyone coming to the matches all ages?

Speaker 2: 6:10

Funny. You're asking that there is a gap and where the gap comes usually is between the ages of 18 and 24. And the reason for that is that a lot of people, both men and women, boys and girls at age they tend to travel to the central belt or further a field to attend university and further their education. So we have a group of most community supporters based in the central belt, the central staff, as they call themselves, and they all stem from men and women that are attending university, colleges or even workplace in the central belt and they're using their way games for our home games, so they can get home, they watch us at home, but they'll make sure they attend all their away games. So there is a little gap there, for sure. But again, we work hard to flip that on its head and make sure that the staff feel part of the club and install a big opportunity to support the team and also get behind the initiatives of the football club, which they do, and we'll be forever grateful for that.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Great. When you have that many different demographics, how do you communicate efficiently? It's one of our challenges.

Speaker 2: 7:16

We are transitioning, I suppose, is the best work into the digital age. But we do have a number of supporters that live in areas that maybe haven't got the access to Wi-Fi or haven't got the technology that's needed. So we feel that we can't ignore that group of supporters. We feel that we need to work with them for that. So where we can digitalize things, then we're definitely wanting to do that, certainly for our current footprint and also for resource and time and everything that goes with that. But there has to be an understanding that there is a group and there is a large group of those supporters that are ready for that digital transition and we make sure that they are accommodated for in the way that they can support the team and they can get behind the club as they do so well.

Speaker 1: 8:07

Exactly, and I think the most important thing is to get the fans to the stadium right. That's the key. I mean, if it's paper, if it's digital, you have to be on their premises. I completely agree with you.

Speaker 2: 8:17

Absolutely, and the fact that we want everybody here. We don't want to exclude anybody. So it does bring a challenge, but again we are making inroads. I will say that we've improved our digitalization and that transition from where we were three years ago. So if we continue to make these small strides when, I think, in time then we will have transitioned fully, as other clubs have been able to do and I suppose, in areas that are more set up for that digitalized area.

Speaker 1: 8:44

I mean we're talking around 40, almost 50% season ticket holders right On the stadium. Is the same demographics on the season ticket holders or do you see a difference in terms of when they attend matches?

Speaker 2: 8:57

That's fairly similar. We have a lot of supporters that have been in this journey, this Scottish Football League journey, from the start. So they feel a ownership of a part of the football club and that's what we tried to create 30 years ago when we embarked on this journey. So there is a lot of, I suppose, stall-ups and I suppose people that have been sitting in the same seat for 30 years and they've moved from watching their team play in the Highland League in a part time environment. They've watched their team climb all the way through the leagues and now they're sitting in the same seat watching the likes of Rangers and Celtic come and play in the stadium, which is fantastic for them and it's also fantastic for us that they get to share that entire journey with the football club.

Speaker 2: 9:40

So, yeah, the similarities between the demographics and the supporters is definitely shown in the season tickets. We run, obviously, as every other football club does, huge community programs and school programs. So we do get an influx of young supporters every year that we were trying to hook in to make Ross County the first one that they fall in love with, and hopefully they can be the next generation that in 30 years time they're still sitting in the same seat because people move from the Highlands for work and they move from the Highlands for education. But the Highlands is a place. They always welcome them back, so they're never away for good. They always come back and we always want to feel that they're Ross County, have a part to play in their lives.

Speaker 1: 10:23

Yeah, man, I mean it's better to grow up in the Highlands as a kid, I suppose than in middle of London. So I completely understand them.

Speaker 2: 10:29

I'm going to buy you a stone. That one I'll need to buy us.

Speaker 1: 10:34

All right. So I mean let's revisit the club. Super interesting, and I mean every club is unique, and Ross County as well. I mean your fans, I mean the size, the location. It all sums up to the brand, right. But, steven, I also think I mean you have a super interesting career, and we started mentioning that in the beginning. You've been a footballer all your life, haven't?

Speaker 2: 10:54

you. Yeah, I left school at 15. Well, no, go over my qualifications at a left for Cal and we'll leave that for another day. But no, I went into full-time football at the age of 15 and I've been really, really fortunate to find a home at Ross County for 20 years. And yeah, it's been some journey, it's been very unique. I understand that and not everybody understands it, but it's been fantastic. It's the best way I could describe it.

Speaker 1: 11:21

Do you think that your career as a football player makes you a better CEO?

Speaker 2: 11:26

I would say it makes me a better CEO. I think it contributes to me understanding. I think it contributes to me being able to communicate properly with supporters and stakeholders, the board and the chairman, because I understand, having played the game and having played for Ross County. So I know what it means to play for Ross County. I've also managed the team. I know the challenges recruiting players. I know the challenges of going to Glasgow and Edinburgh to try and win points. So sometimes I feel that that experience can give me a real level head and understanding of the real-time challenges that managers and players will be facing.

Speaker 1: 12:08

Yeah, I think it's a super impressive list. That experience gives you an edge and also an incredible experience when it comes to running the club. It's the first time for everything, also for us here in theticketingpodcastcom. First of all, you're the first Scottish guest we've had, the first one with a background as professional football player, and our first CEO. You mentioned a little bit right on your experience being now a CEO in the club, but how is that role? What does the CEO at Ross County FC do?

Speaker 2: 12:41

It's a really good question because I think there'll be a different answer every time you spoke to somebody from a different club, because I think for me, being the role as Chief Executive at Ross County is around finding the best version of ourselves. So I think sometimes I think you have to walk in the shoes, I think you have to have experienced the day to day, and then I think it's just understanding what we're trying to achieve. You know, being able to define what success is for us and also doing what needs done. Now, you know a lot of things that I've picked up on the last four years. You know people will be saying you know you should be delegating that. You know you'll speak to people and you know your staff should be able to pick that up, but that's okay if you've got staff to delegate it to.

Speaker 2: 13:27

Every one of my staff are passionate.

Speaker 2: 13:29

Every one of our staff gives absolutely everything to the football club and every one of our staff, you know, do more than what their job specs says they do, and I would say that that is very much right from top to bottom.

Speaker 2: 13:41

And that starts from me where, yeah, there's maybe other ways to do it, but I suppose my job is to find out what's the best way for Ross County to do it and what's the best way that we can achieve what we want to achieve and sustain that, because I would much rather do one thing really really well than 10 things average. And we've tried to really streamline our thinking and really streamline and what is the best model, what's best practice that can be shared through every club? But what's best practice for Ross County? What's the best version for our commercial department? What's the best version for our academy? What's the best version for our community and foundation and all the wider engagement stuff. So it's a constant challenge, is constantly moving, but we do have a vision and we do have a clear direction of travel and I suppose my job is to make sure that when we do come off that track, that we find a way back on it and then we continue on the journey.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Just curious on how you spend your time and how much of your total time, because you touch a lot of different stakeholders, right you mentioned. But how much time do you spend with a fan? I mean, how much time do you delegate to be with the fans?

Speaker 2: 14:56

I would always say never enough, because I think the fans and know me as a person and know my journey as well, I think we get how important I know the supporters are to the Football Club and communication is key and there's been bits where we've went in certain directions and tried to do certain things that it's not worked and I think it's sometimes that holding up your hands to say, listen, yeah, we did try something there and I've listened to what you've said and that wasn't the best version for Ross County Football Club. So then we'll look to find the best version and that communication is really, really important. I have a strong link to our supporter liaison officers, so difficult to speak to every member of our supporters individually, so I need to think about pockets where pushing really hard to get a supporters club that brings all the demographics together. It brings all the areas together, and I'm doing that through the supporters liaison officers and they've been really good to travel both home and away. So I'm getting real time information back from the supporters of lessons that have been in this role around our comms around, whether it be by letter or whether it be by email or whether it be social media. So again, I think we've made tweaks in there.

Speaker 2: 16:11

That feedback I'm getting and the fans are happy with it. They're never going to be truly happy with it. There's always going to be something coming back that they want to be better or they want to be different, and I would never want that to change. And summing it up, my relationship with the supporters is I think that they know that I will watch best for Ross County and I think that just me, that I'll be searching for what's best for Ross County and I just need to make sure I communicate clearly and transparently and consistently. I suppose that's the word that would be the one that supporters is working the most is that consistency in our message, and I'm not for a minute saying that we have achieved that. It's always a work in progress by, as on the agenda of remitting we have and it is high up, and all the staffs, I suppose agenda and delivering for our supporters.

Speaker 1: 17:11

Obviously there is a lot of feedback coming in right, and maybe sometime too much feedback coming in, but I think, as you're saying, the warning light should go on if it's quiet. No one wants quiet.

Speaker 2: 17:22

It's all around engagement. It's all around communication and speaking, and I get that and you're right about feedback. You can get feedback and you can get a thousand different opinions from the one topic and I suppose that's my role as this day actually listed in the thousand opinions but actually make the right decision was right for the football club, and I've got a huge support in the chairman. I would be remiss not to say that that is there. I've got a real astute and a nationally acclaimed businessman that understands the club better than anybody. So I do have a real mentor, I suppose, in the chairman and I have a really supportive board, albeit small, that also understand the challenges. So, although I'm here as a chief executive and I'm here the day to day, we do have a really good, strong support network around me there as well, which obviously grateful for.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Yeah, that's that's great to have. I mean, ceo can also be a lonely job, right, so it's good to have good people around you, all right. So, this being a ticketing podcast, right, we need to talk ticketing as well. Obviously, that includes the fans, but how big is your ticketing stuff at the Global Energy Stadium and how do you work with them on a daily basis?

Speaker 2: 18:36

We didn't have a specialist call up until six months ago. So one of the things that we identified was ticketing is one of the biggest things at our football club because we have a ticketing system that everything we do on a match day or everything that we do during the week goes through the system. So our hospitality goes through our ticketing system. For instance, any events that we're doing, any conference and any stuff that we've got in the lounges goes through our ticketing system. So really, really important for us that we identified how important that was in the scale at the football club. So six months ago we had been speaking about it and I'd highlighted that we're short of a specialist and we're short of somebody that takes complete ownership of it. So it was one of the best appointments I've made. We appointed a lady Kathleen. She's in full time, she's in day to day but she's solely responsible for the running and the management of our ticket and at Rose County Football Club, the ground that we've made since given that ownership piece to our members a full-time member of staff has been night and day and it's one of the best things that we've done. Certainly this season there's really made a difference. Our supporters have noticed that our consistency has noticed that the trouble-free on a matchday, you know that safety net of knowing that somebody has been over it all week and that's been their job all week in the mill and up to the game, has been really important.

Speaker 2: 20:04

She has a team of four that work in the commercial department under their ticketing lice. So, again, small team and for the smaller games it's probably too big a team. But when Rangers and Celtic were still very short. But we've got what we've got, we've got the resources that we've got and have the credit, kathleen and the ticketing team and the commercial team for being able to manage what could be potentially 3,500, 4,000 old firm supporters Edinburgh Derby supporters could be a challenge, to say the least, for us, rangers and Celtic.

Speaker 2: 20:43

We could sell the stadium three, four times only to Rangers and Celtic. So the challenge when we are playing the old firm is trying to keep old firm supporters out of our end because they're best before a ticket there's only normally 2,500 tickets will go to the opposition team. We give them the North Stand, which is the whole stand behind the Wagle, and also a corner which is an extension of the other stand that can be contained toilets, tea bars, ingress. Egress is all very comfortable, so that's a challenge and we always manage it and we always succeeded. I just feel that we're much more professional and there's much more reassurance that we actually understand the process of buying and selling tickets and how that works 100% agree.

Speaker 1: 21:35

And you touched it by an unsalt take, or Rangers, for that matter, or visiting. How is the atmosphere at the stadium? It must be incredible.

Speaker 2: 21:45

It's electric and I genuinely mean that. The stadium is one metre from the pitch. So the front row behind both goals is one metre from the pitch, so that's where away fans are situated. It's behind one of the goals. So when that is full and when that is bouncing like our own JLN behind our home, where our supporters will go it'd be noisy and they'll go engage with the game as a meter away from the pitch. So that in itself brings a real atmosphere.

Speaker 2: 22:14

Over time we've grew the stadium and we've added layers and we really don't have a square meter of space anywhere in the stadium because it's maxed out. The corners are all filled in with something or other, so there's no noise escaping. Every stand has obviously a roof and signs on it. So, regarding that, played in it when it's been full, I've managed in it when it's been full and now I'm watching it from the stands when it's been full. And again, I will be biased, but I genuinely don't feel that there is a place where you get a better atmosphere or you feel so involved in the game, just purely with how close the playing surface is to the supporters. I think it's a great stadium for football and I think speaking to supporters from other clubs and our own clubs. I think they'll agree that they enjoy coming to watch football in Dingwall and enjoy coming to a full stadium, which is really special, and the noise seems like there's more than 6,500 people there.

Speaker 1: 23:17

Yeah, I can imagine.

Speaker 2: 23:19

Speaking of players as well. Players love it because of that involvement with the fans and listen to thousands of challenges. We're on an era of pyros and we're on an era of pitching cushions and all the stuff that every other club needs to put up with, but we have a really robust operations team. On a match day, we know where the flashbacks are going to be and we make sure that we're able to deal with whatever comes in the match day, which allows people to come and watch football and enjoy football in the highlands. So a special place.

Speaker 1: 23:53

I can imagine sounds exciting and definitely queue up for a ticket the next time you're pulling up a match like that.

Speaker 2: 24:00

Don't make sure you get one, carl. You're not gonna need a queue, it's fine.

Speaker 1: 24:02

Sounds like a plan, Highlands. I'll fill it home. I'll fill it home.

Speaker 2: 24:05

Yeah, jack, it will be okay, you'll be fine.

Speaker 1: 24:09

All right. So on these big events, right, big games, how hands-on are you?

Speaker 2: 24:14

Again, I think it's the model of Ross County. I'm very hands-on on the match day, and especially in the big match days, because one I want to make sure that we're on it and we're all over it and we understand. So I always describe match day as the stage, as the platform, as the bit that you can show the work that's going in day to day, that you can actually display. On a match day where hospitality is in full swing, the supporters are in the stadium, it's the busiest day in the club shop, the bars are full, the lounges are full. So, yeah, I make sure I'm pretty hands-on, but I also make sure that I trust the people that have been tasked to do the job that they've been brought in to do.

Speaker 2: 24:56

And, like I said, I'm lucky in that aspect.

Speaker 2: 24:59

We get things done, they get things done and they get it done safely and they get it done well and for that I'm again I'm very grateful. But I think we know that I'm there if they need me and we will be a success together or we'll fail together and we try to bring almost that dressing room mentality to our non-football side, and I suppose it's the only way that I can do it, carl because I've not been in any other environment to making sure that once we cross the white line, then I can rely on who's on the left and I can rely on who's on my right and they can both rely on me. So let's go and attack it together. So now I'm comfortable with the group we've got. We would always like more, of course, we would always like more, but sometimes more isn't the answer. You know, sometimes, again, I would rather that understanding and that ownership of what's job and hand, and then the freedom to go and deliver it in the way that we spoke about, which is thankfully happens at the football club.

Speaker 1: 26:00

Great and one thing I was curious on as well, you being an ex-player, when you were at the stadium yourself playing matches did you ever see yourself in the role as a CEO?

Speaker 2: 26:12

Honestly, no chance, never, absolutely never. And I think that's what makes it even more unique, because everybody that knows me would probably have said the same, carl, as well. To be brutally honest, my pathway was never to the boardroom, it was never across every department in the football club. But football is a wonderful sport and it has wonderful people involved in it and I think what people in football recognise is, you know, that honesty and that authenticness to somebody that's trying to do the best they can and take a pride in doing what they're doing. So I think traits that I must have shown as a player, as a manager, as a director of the academy, I think are all transferable into these roles. Now I may do it slightly different, I may talk slightly different, I may have a different angle or a different approach to things, but ultimately there is loads of ways to skin a cat and I think being able to come in at a different angle and a different perspective, to go along with the business, the acronym of the chairman and the people around him, I think it helps. Do you think it works everywhere this way? I don't know, but again, we spoke about it being a fit for Ross County. You know, I was a co-manager in the first team alongside Stuart Kettlewell. Everybody had a problem with the co-manager thing, apart from Stuart Kettlewell, and that because, again, you couldn't see how it could work. They didn't know how it was working. I mean, we went on to win two trophies, we had the really successful two naviers together, but again, wouldn't that have worked at any other football club? I'm not so sure, but for that period in time it worked at Ross County and it was the best model at the time for Ross County. So I think there's a lot of that.

Speaker 2: 28:02

I think the chairman's brave enough to do it his way. I think the chairman's brave enough to make decisions that maybe other people wouldn't make. But I think the chairman will know, and everybody else that knows, I've never once said that I'm the finished article as a chief executive. I've never once said that I've got all the answers. But what I have done is I've done it the way I would do any job and I've attacked it the way I've done any previous job as well. So, and maybe not for everybody, but we have a list of successes and we have a list of things that we can be proud of and things that we've achieved. That, again. It's a big thing.

Speaker 2: 28:40

For me, coming from football, crossing over is. One of the biggest questions I ask myself is you know, how do you define success? Because we could be fantastic in every department and lose the game on the Saturday and everything I'll read after that is that well, ross County are only doing well because we've lost the game on the Saturday. So my job is to try and level that out a bit and try and actually celebrate the small wins and look at actually some of the really, really good work that's going on that isn't written about in the paper or isn't all over social media. Listen, I'll never get away as a football guy from saying that the most important thing is three points on a Saturday, absolutely Sitting in this seat.

Speaker 2: 29:21

If you ask me, if the one thing I could be guaranteed every week, what would it be? It wouldn't be that all my hospitality lunges are full and we're selling out of the stadium. It would be three points on a Saturday. But when I see the work that the non footballing staff do to build up to a match day and the work that goes in, I think is my job to make sure that that's recognised and also supported. In regard to that. It can be a lonely place, football clubs, when you're no winning games, and there can be a hell of a lot of good work going on and you can still be losing games. But that's the beauty of football and that's what we all love about it.

Speaker 1: 29:56

That's the beauty of it, yeah, and as you're saying, I mean there's one team was playing the matches, but there is another team was doing the work behind the scenes, and both teams are extremely important. I think we can agree on that, and that's why we love doing a podcast about ticketing as well. Right, because it's the ticketing inside of things. It's extremely important, especially on these big matches, brings the people to the stadium and, yeah, interesting topic.

Speaker 2: 30:23

It's huge. I think we're taking it as the most important thing on the match day, because you have so much governance around safety and so much governance around people attending the games and getting into the stadium, getting out of the stadium and for that to be controlled in a manner that you're 100% confident in really does allow you then to worry about other things because you know that's completely under control and it's reported and delivered in the correct way.

Speaker 1: 30:53

Yeah, I think just needs to work. That's one of the most important things. So you've been a player before. We have some traditions here in the podcast that you've probably heard, and one of them is understanding more of match day rituals. People have different match day rituals and they're getting more and more different from every podcast episode. So I'm wondering, steven, do you have any match day rituals?

Speaker 2: 31:18

Listen, I totally understand that and as a player, I could have used the whole podcast and telling you what my match day rituals and superstitions were. And you know what. I'm going to sit now and I've even dipped in and out, so you know. Leaving at the same time they come to the stadium, driving to the stadium the same way, maybe picking up a coffee at the same time, maybe addressing the people in the same order. I've been through all that. I've been through all that and from time to time the ties may or not. So what I've kind of made a conscious effort to do is having no rituals and actually just saying I'm going to take it as it comes.

Speaker 2: 31:56

I might get a coffee, I might not get a coffee, I might speak to this person, I may not speak to that person. And that's definitely changed from when I played, because when I played, meal on the Friday night was the same, the time I went to my bed was the same, the time I got up the same, the route I walked the dog was the same, and sometimes I think that you can get a little bit lost in it. I understand why people do it I really do, and I've been there myself but I've just found that it was taking up too much of my time and my energy to make sure that I wasn't blaming something that was nothing to do with what happened in the game, why it happened or the result. So it's a bit of a roundabout answer for you and a player. I've done loads millions. I threatened when I took this job over three, four years ago and I come full circle and says no, no rituals for me, I'm going to take it as it comes.

Speaker 1: 32:51

That's good. That's also a ritual to have no rituals, I suppose.

Speaker 2: 32:58

Can't help it. I can't help it.

Speaker 1: 33:00

Go get away with it. I mean, we've touched on some very interesting aspects of, I mean, leading a club. We touched on the ticketing department, and those of us with the stickiest brains will remember every single word. But if you want our listeners to remember some three key points from this conversation, stephen, and what will those be?

Speaker 2: 33:19

Well, I think we've highlighted how important your ticketing system is at your football club for your match day to run smoothly. But certainly for me, the takeaway is a chief executive and maybe not your stereo a typical chief executive and I look back and I'm a scrimmeler. I write everything down and I go back to things and I read things more than people will probably think that I read things. But there's a few takeaways for me in this role. I think you have to think in grey. I don't think you can think in black and white. I think it's too fluid.

Speaker 2: 33:51

The industry of football, I think from a football perspective, it was black and white and, regarding when you were playing, you wanted to get to the ball first. That was clear. You wanted to score that way. It was really, really clear.

Speaker 2: 34:01

I think in this role, I think you do need to think in grey more and I've learned to do that.

Speaker 2: 34:07

I've also learned in this role that you're probably better to make the decision and get it wrong than not making the decision at all, and I think that that's really important.

Speaker 2: 34:16

Where, listen, I would rather not get it wrong, but I think in my experience over the last four years is that you know it's somebody's job to make the decision, add decision, and not making it can sometimes lead to more bother than actually making it, even if you get it wrong. So I think that's really important. Another wee bit for me was again just for my staff is just having a touch on the reality of how you can define success to your team where that enables them to continually chase the gap and try and close the gap and try and reach your bits. I mean that's difficult to get, but it's even difficult to get when they don't see any success or they don't see any of the games that they've made. So I see it as my role is to make sure that I have a level head on defining success for the whole football club, and I think that's important as well.

Speaker 1: 35:08

Great takeaways, stephen and I have to say I mean inspiring to talk to you as well. I really enjoyed it. It's been a privilege to have you as our guest. I mean, stephen, if anyone wants to reach you any of our listeners want to contact you. How can they do it?

Speaker 2: 35:23

Yeah, no, listen, they can contact, no problem. They can email me or say I'm on LinkedIn as well if anybody wants to touch base on LinkedIn. Or you have my email address if you want to put out to your listeners, then I'm a massive advocate of sharing good practice and being completely open, because I say constantly that I could sit here with Pep Guardiola's coaching book. It doesn't make me Pep Guardiola, so I would always look to share and, equally, I would always look to take better ideas from other people than I've got myself, probably more so than people taking my ideas. But no, I would be very open to that kind of that wouldn't be a problem.

Speaker 1: 36:00

Sounds great. Thank you so much, Stephen again, and to all our listeners. You've been listening to theTicketingPodcastcom, where today's guest has been Stephen Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer, CEO at the Scottish Premier League Club, Russ County FC. Thank you so much for listening and thank you to our sponsor, TicketGo, for powering theTicketingPodcastcom. If you've enjoyed this conversation, feel free to share it with anyone you might think would be benefit from listening in, and if you know some great people with the ticketing, we are happy to have a chat with them and they might be a great fit for our podcast. People like Stephen, great people we would like to meet. So my name is Karl-Erik Moberg. Until next time, have a great day.