Thistle boss calls for WOSL chiefs rethink
Diack: Promotion is key factor
East Kilbride Thistle b o s s I a i n Di a c k i n s i s t s promotion and relegation i n t he West of S cotl and s h o u l d n’t b e a xe d j u s t because Auchinleck Talbot and Poll ok have pull ed out.
It has been a week of chaos for tier six and seven clubs with eight clubs walking away from the inaugural season and mothballing.
The decision from the likes of Talbot and Pollok means t hat l eague chiefs are now l ooking a t ma k i n g t h e c o n f e r e n c e s a n d P r e mi e r D i v i s i o n n o n - competitive.
However, Jags boss Diack has c a l l e d f or t here t o be f ur t her talks regarding promotion with October 24 now confirmed as the kick-off date.
He said: “I’ve said before that e v e r y c l ub wil l have t o j udge starting the season on their own merits and their own finances. I knew that everyone was going to be different.
“You can see why clubs like Po l l o k a n d Au c h i n l e c k , who have big fan bases who probably contribute to a big part of their wage bill, would go with a break.
“At the same time, that’s up to them, we haven’t chosen this.
“A l ot of t he c l ubs who di d pul l out were t he t e a ms who made a fuss that it shouldn’t be conferences and it should be a top league as far as I can see.
“Now they are all gone.
“For me, if you don’t want to come into the league that’s fair enough and there is no judgement on t hat, but at t he s ame t i me the league still has to go on as planned.
“All the things that were up for grabs should still be on offer.
“Why should teams like Ki l wi nni ng b e p u ni s he d a nd not get a chance to play in the Lowland League? Why should teams not be allowed to go up to the top league?
“It shouldn’t be just because Poll ok and Auchinleck are n’ t happy with i t, promotion and relegation i s cancelled. That’s not fair.
“In my opinion they should take what is left of the conferences, redo the conferences in the fairest way possible, and the winners of those three leagues play-off to win, like they did in the East of Scotland League.
“If the league comes back and says that there isn’t going to be any promotion I think you’ll have a lot more teams dropping out of the league.
“I think they would be making a rod for their own back if they go down that route.”
With less than two weeks until the Conference C opener, Diack is delighted with how his squad is shaping up after a 2-1 win over Forth.
“It was a good result against Forth and we ironed out some of the things we didn’t like when we played Drumchapel,” he said.
“It was good to see us moving forward and everyone was fitter.
“If we can get the season going I think it would be a massive boost to everyone.”