The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
PYRAMIDCUTINHALF STRUCTURE
FormerDonschiefwarnsviruspandemiccouldleaveScottishfootballwithjusttwoleagues
Former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness fears Scottish football may be reduced to two leagues due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wyness, who was at the Dons from 2001 to 2004, is hugely concerned about the long-term implications the shutdown could have on Scotland’s national game.
Football has been suspended in Scotland at all levels since March 13 and with the possibility of matches taking place without fans for months to come, many clubs face a grim financial future.
Wyness said: “I do think there is going to have to be a complete recalibration, looking to one or two leagues maximum.
“I think that is going to be the financial reality.
“This has made everybody look at themselves starkly and realise that things may not go on or come back as normal.”
Wyness, who also worked as a chief executive at Everton and Aston Villa, believes it is incumbent on the country’s two biggest clubs, Celtic and
Rangers, to play their part in helping protect the smaller teams in the SPFL.
He told BBC Sportsound: “Clubs like the Old Firm, and the top major clubs have got to really think about trying to divide the spoils of the game properly and equally so that overall we try and get a more balanced league and a more competitive league as that is what is going get people back in again.
“It is going to take some big men, some big women to do it and a real view of what is going to be best for the future, because now it really is make or break for the game.
“We have been repeating this problem with the same fault lines appearing in Scottish football every decade, but now we have got to really face up to it and realise that the whole thing could be lost completely. If it isn’t going to happen now, it will never happen.
“If it just carries on limping along then we are going to be content to repeat the same mistakes and gradually go with a long, lingering and painful death.”
Meanwhile, Stenhousemuir chairman Iain McMenemy has accused the SPFL’s top flight clubs of dictating the agenda after reconstruction plans resurfaced.
Hearts owner Ann Budge has been given the green light to explore the possibility of a temporary restructuring of the SPFL’s four divisions and is expected to outline her proposal at today’s SPFL board meeting.
This comes a little more than a week after the top flight clubs had announced that it was the wrong time for Scottish football to be considering reconstruction, effectively ending the prospect of a move to a 14-14-14 model.
The Stenny chairman said: “I just hope if something’s on the table we get it quite soon.
“Even if it is being dictated down the leagues to us from the Premiership once again.
“If we have got something they’ve come up with and they want us to discuss it and come up with a view then let us know as soon as they possibly can and let’s see where it goes so we don’t have another six weeks of civil war.”