Rangers have issued a strong response to the latest SPFL plans to call a halt to the 2019/20 season and have formulated an idea of their own which was revealed in a statement on their official website.
The SPFL have demanded that all member clubs from the Championship downwards vote on the concept of finishing the current season with places being calculated by average points over the number of games that have been played by each team.
The Premiership has not yet been asked to make any decisions with there being a greater importance placed on European places and also the financially damaging effect of relegation from the top flight, every chance is being given to allow the remaining games to be played.
With 75% approval required in each league for the resolution to pass and each league having a play-off structure after the regular season to decide promotion places, there appears to be little appetite for the plans to be ratified.
The Championship has, for example, as many as nine teams that could still be promoted and – as things stand – it would just be Dundee United that would make the step-up, likewise, Partick Thistle would face relegation even though they have a game in hand on Queen of the South and could overtake them if they were to win it.
The biggest issue is the financial demands being placed on each club, although there is help in the shape of the government’s coronavirus job protection scheme, teams are still feeling the pinch in the economic downturn.
Rangers plan revolves around allocating prize money early which would allow teams to ride out the current crisis and also buy some time to allow greater deliberation over the best approach to take – not only this but it allows time to monitor an ever changing situation that may yet see the return of football this summer, Hearts and Falkirk have already come out in support of the proposal.
If the lower league clubs vote through the resolution then the next obvious step is for the SPFL to seek to award Celtic the title and relegate Hearts, with UEFA threatening to block entry to continental competition and the Tynecastle club – with Rangers – contemplating legal action, this is a story that will be far from over after the result of the vote on Friday is announced.