MAKING THE CUT

++ Championship clubs agree plan for reduced 27-game season kicking off on October 17 ++

SCOTTISH Championship clubs will play nine games fewer than normal under plans to kick off the new season behind closed doors in mid-October.

The Premiership intends to start on August 1 and a meeting of second-tier teams last week ended in a provisional agreement to follow suit on Saturday, October 17.

The plan will see Championship sides play 27 games instead of their usual 36, facing each other three times in total.

As part of the agreement, chairmen will accept the loss of some home games — and a fixtures imbalance against certain opponents.

Covid-19 restrictions could be relaxed sufficiently to allow a percentage of supporters back into stadia later this year or early in 2021. That means the loss of a home game against Hearts, with their large away support, could prove costly for some.

With the Fife derby back on the fixture list, either Dunfermline or Raith Rovers will also be disadvantaged by the plan.

Queen of the South chairman Billy Hewitson has already expressed misgivings over the ability of the Dumfries club to meet the weekly cost of between £3,000 and £5,000 for testing players and officials to stage fixtures behind closed doors.

With Hearts in need of a league to play in, however, a proposal to mothball the division until January and play a truncated 18-game season has now been shelved.

With Scotland’s 42 teams poised to benefit from a £50,000-per-club cash

injection from philanthropist James Anderson, the compromise is a 27-game season kicking off behind closed doors in mid-October — with virtual season tickets allowing fans to watch games live on club TV channels until they are allowed back into grounds. The plan effectively signals the death knell for a reconstruction paper from Hearts owner Ann Budge, seeking a new format of three leagues of 14. The SPFL have asked clubs to email their views on Budge’s proposal by 5pm tonight.

Sportsmail understands most Championship clubs have already rejected it. Another plan put forward by Rangers for a 14-14-18 set-up incorporating Kelty Hearts, Brora Rangers and Old Firm colt teams is almost certain to suffer the same fate. Facing a £3m black hole as a result of relegation, rejection of their plan will leave Hearts to consider legal action.