Brechin look to avoid drop and add two to League 2
BRECHIN have made a desperate late attempt to save their SPFL skins by canvassing fellow member clubs over scrapping the pyramid play-off and admitting Kelty Hearts and Brora Rangers into a beefed-up League Two.
The Angus club – eight points adrift at the bottom with five games remaining – are waiting to discover if SPFL chiefs will give the play-off the go-ahead.
The fixture was cancelled 12 months ago at the height of the pandemic but Kelty and Brora are adamant there must be no repeat of their pathway being blocked.
Brechin chairman Ken Ferguson stepped down from the SPFL board two weeks ago with a decision on the play-off looming. But now a document sent to fellow member clubs from Glebe Park – and seen by Record Sport – suggests no relegation this season.
Instead it proposes promoting Kelty and Brora as champions of the
Lowland and Highland League to join a 12-team bottom tier next season.
Then in another year’s time the champions of the two tier-five divisions will again be promoted along with the addition of Celtic and Rangers Colts to a 16-team League Two.
Brechin released a statement last night after details of their letter emerged and outlined the reasons why they want the play-off scrapped.
It read: “We strongly believe that any relegation play-off games this season will be fundamentally unfair on Club 42.
“That club will have played 13 league games in a period of 59 days, many having been concentrated into periods of three or four games in seven days.
“The winners of the Highland v Lowland playoff will have played two games in the same period and will not be affected to nearly the same extent by injuries, suspensions, lack of recovery time or fatigue.”