Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Goodwin has no problem with United and Celtic being crowned champs
ST MIRREN boss Jim Goodwin says he would have no complaints if Dundee United were handed the Championship title.
The coronavirus shutdown could see the SFA and SPFL opt for an ‘as-it-stands’ finish that would see the likes of United, Celtic and Raith Rovers crowned champions.
Voiding t he 2019/20 campaign remains an option, as does restarting the season behind closed doors when the football suspension ends.
Goodwin sympathises with Hampden chiefs Ian Maxwell and Neil D o n c a st e r o v e r w h a t happens next.
He said: “I wouldn’t want to be in Ian Maxwell or Neil Doncaster’s shoes.
“We’re all in a difficult situation and I can only imagine what clubs like Celtic, Hearts and Dundee United are going through.
“But, if the season can’t be finished, then I see no problem with Celtic or United being proclaimed champions – they’re so far ahead and have been out in front for months.
“Relegation would seem unfair on Hearts, though, as they still have a fighting chance of staying up.
“What do we do? I’m not in favour of playing behind closed doors because football without fans i s meaningless.
“We’ve been off for over a week now and t he players’ fitness levels will drop off dramatically in the next fortnight.
“We’ve been told we can’t train in groups but it would make no sense to put them at risk by doing that when they didn’t have a game to train for anyway.
“The lads are off for now then we’ll see where we are.
“In the meantime, they’ve each been given individual programmes to follow.”