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St Mirren don’t believe league reconstruction plans are ‘take it or leave it’

St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour.
St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour.

St Mirren will vote against league reconstruction plans next week after claiming the proposals were unfair on supporters.

The 12 Scottish Premier League clubs will be balloted on a potential revamp of the Scottish game on Monday, with an 11-1 majority required to push through any changes.

However, hopes of a new 12-12-18 structure being implemented for the start of next season now appear doomed.

Ross County had already indicated they might not back the plans, while Saints highlighted a number of concerns, including plans to split the top two divisions into three groups of eight.

A club statement read: “After a very studied consideration of the structure, articles of association, rules and shareholders agreement, the board of St Mirren Football Club have decided that they will be unable to support the motion at next Monday’s meeting of SPL clubs regarding this proposal for league reconstruction.

“This view has been taken after careful thought regarding this proposal including engagement with fans and the views of our coaching staff.

“The principles of a new league structure, single league body and all-through distribution model are part of many aspects of this we fully support, however the proposal as presented does not, in our view, move the game forward.

“The concept of playing 22 games prior to breaking into three leagues of eight, including the middle eight losing their points gained in the first series of games, is not a system we see as taking the game forward in the long term.

“You will be aware that other countries have tried this system and have since rejected such a set-up.”

The statement went on: “We also feel that this system is not fair to fans who buy into their club by way of a season ticket, who are then unsure of what they are purchasing.

“It is also against the basic wishes of the fans for larger leagues as highlighted in all recent fan surveys.”

The Buddies’ chiefs are also unhappy with plans to retain the current voting structure, restrictions on amendments once reconstruction is in place and the stance on financial rules.

The statement added: “In the proposed rules, the voting structure is remaining, in all items that are of importance, an 11-1 vote.

“In our opinion, this is fundamentally wrong in any structure and is the principle reason why Scottish league football has not been able to restructure prior to this time, a view St Mirren have held for some time.

“The restriction on any change for three years is also very much against our view. When engaging with any new rule book, there will always be oversight and anomalies that need to be revised on an annual basis.

“An area St Mirren are very uncomfortable with is the lock-down on various financial rules.

“The credibility of Scottish football has been tarnished badly in recent times by financial mis-management and the time has come for strong financial rules to be in place.

“Another concern to us is the hard line taken by some in certain areas, like season start date, home-grown talent, under-21 rules.

“This is not an exhaustive list, however we do think these items require negotiation for the betterment of Scottish football in general.”

Fourteen SFL clubs recently expressed a desire to delay changes for a further season, with the SFL’s own formal vote set to take place next week if SPL clubs give the plans the green light.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster indicated that league reconstruction could be shelved altogether if top-flight clubs do not back the proposals on April 15, when he was quoted as saying: “If less than 11 (SPL) clubs are in favour, the game’s a bogey and that’s that.”

But the Saints statement concluded: “We also do not accept that this is a take it or leave it situation.

“We do wish to keep working towards one organisation, an all through distribution model and getting closer to our supporters’ wishes of a larger league, while being fully aware of the commercial and financial pressures of operating a football club.”

Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor last month outlined his opposition.

He said: “My concerns are for the fans. About 80 to 85% of what is there I really believe in one league body, redistribution (of money), more competitiveness but I do feel for the fans who are asked to buy a 22-match season ticket.”