Blues CEO and chairman Mark Ashton believes football should shape the new independent regulator and revealed that the governing bodies use Town’s ownership as an example of how they would like clubs to be run.

Ashton, speaking at last night’s Fans’ Forum, was asked his view on the new Independent Football Regulator, which has been established to protect and promote the financial health, sustainability and heritage of English football.

Former television executive David Kogan had been appointed the chair and Richard Monks, previously of the Financial Conduct Authority, the CEO.

“My own opinion on the regulator now is irrelevant because it’s here,” Ashton said. “But I think what we have to do, and I’ve made this very clear to the regulator, made it very clear to the government, very clear to the EFL and the EPL, we must shape the regulator.

“Football has to manage football. The regulator’s here, none of us quite know where that’s going to drop and how the regulator’s going to move forward. They keep telling us it will be a light touch.

“I think there are some things that the regulator brings that will be good. I think this football club naturally does what it does. I think we are one of the most transparent clubs, we try and communicate, we don’t get it right all the time.

“Ownership is very clear. I was talking to the governing bodies only last week and they use our ownership as a blue chip example of how they’d like to see football clubs run.

“I think we will work with the regulator, we will help shape the regulator, but I also think football has a responsibility to get its own house in order.

“There are a number of good things that I think the regulator will bring, but we’ve just got to make sure that’s a light touch because this industry is very complex. I think the English Premier League is one of the biggest and best exports this country currently has and we need just to be careful.

“The Premier League, the EFL, they are some of the shining lights economically that the country has, so we need to make sure that we protect the game moving forward.

“I’m a passionate believer that we must protect the pyramid, but we’ll work with the regulator to help shape what that light touch looks like.”

Asked to add his thoughts, Ed Schwartz from ORG, who represent PSPRS, the pension fund which is the majority shareholder in the club, said: “The only thing I would say, I really defer to Mark on specifics, but in terms of ownership, we believe in transparency, we believe we have a very blue chip group, including a major pension fund.

“So, on one level, we’re not as concerned about that type of thing, but obviously we’re very mindful of the integrity of the game and the growth of the game.”

Photo: TownTV