Footballers looking for more money is nothing new and John Yorkston was expecting the knock on the door and the 'Please can we have some more' plea.

It wasn't unexpected
Now that everything has been agreed, Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston admits he was not surprised that his players were looking for a bigger bonus to beat Celtic in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday. A number of senior players including Jim McIntyre, Scott Thomson, Scott Wilson and Greg Shields met with the club management looking for an increase on the, said to be, £3,000 on offer for bringing the cup back to Fife for the the first time in 39 years. Yorkston was not at the meeting but wants to play down the situation which threatened to disrupt manager Stephen Kenny's preparations ahead of Saturday's final at Hampden.

Speaking last night, Yorkston said: "It wasn't unexpected. It's normal as far as I'm concerned. I was in London yesterday and I will have to get up to date with the situation. But I wouldn't call it a a bonus row, it's a bonus discussion. We had an agreement in place before the season started and the players signed it off. But it's just players being players and you would know that if you worked with them every day. This is not unusual before cup finals, players always want to see if they can get more money. If you offer them £1,000, they want £2,000, offer them £2,000, they want £4,000, offer them £4,000 and they want £8,000. But we can only pay what we can afford and you have to remember that we have just been relegated. If we put £50,000 extra in to the pot then that could mean that Stephen Kenny could lose out on another player next season."

League form belied the form displayed during an inspiring Scottish Cup run in which the Pars have beaten Rangers, Hearts, Partick Thistle and Hibs. However, Yorkston believes the club acted in good faith before the season had begun. He said: "It's a balancing act for us. For instance, in the first round we could have been drawn away to Rangers or away to East Fife. If we are away to Rangers we will make a lot of money but if we are away to East Fife then it costs us money. So it's a chance that the club takes when we agree bonuses before the season starts. But as always in these situations, we want hope to get the situation resolved as soon as possible." Yorkston was also surprised to read about defender Souleymane Bamba's plans for leaving the club after the final. He said: "I also hear that Sol Bamba could be playing his last game for us on Saturday. Well, he has got another year of his contract to go and we are in discussions with him about extending it. And I know that he spoke to the manager about the situation yesterday."

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