Peterhead boss Jim McInally slams ‘immoral’ idea of 14-14-14 league set-up

Peterhead boss Jim McInally has slammed the reconstruction idea of three leagues of 14 teams.

Various proposals about potential remodelling of the Scottish League set-up for next season are being considered by an SPFL taskforce.

One suggestion has been to revert to three divisions of 14, which would save Hearts and Partick Thistle – bottom of the Premiership and Championship respectively – but would result in Clyde (seventh), Peterhead (eighth) and Forfar (ninth) being relegated to the bottom tier alongside League One’s bottom club Stranraer.

The reconstruction panel aims to ensure no club is adversely affected by potential changes.

Elgin City chairman Graham Tatters suggested at the weekend all the clubs in League Two supported the 14-14-14 proposal.

But Blue Toon boss McInally believes it would be ridiculous to relegate three sides who weren’t bottom of their league.

He said: “This proposal of 14-14-14 would go against the whole point of the reconstruction taskforce to protect sporting integrity and ensure there was no relegation.

“It would be totally immoral for Peterhead, Clyde and Forfar to be relegated as a result of this.

“It would show once again that nobody cares about the smaller part-time teams and it would just be wrong.

Peterhead’s Jamie Stevenson was this week’s guest on our Northern Goal podcast:

“It would be a case of Hearts and Partick Thistle being saved but three wee teams can get relegated and who cares?

“Clyde were seventh, we were eighth and Forfar were ninth in the table and could go down if this proposal is voted through.

“Yet Hearts who are bottom of the Premiership and have been just about since day one would survive, if the Premiership season can’t be played out.

“We’ll see what happens, but a lot of stuff has been said about this.

“Graham Tatters from Elgin went from saying reconstruction should be put on the backburner because there were bigger issues to address.

“He was 100% right with that, but then he went on to say there had been a meeting and all the League Two clubs were supporting this idea – which is incredible coming from a man who said he didn’t want to talk about reconstruction and that it shouldn’t be on the agenda.

“If that’s true what Tatters has said, I find it an incredible stance to go from not wanting to talk about reconstruction to supporting it.”

McInally also feels the 14-14-14 plan wouldn’t be fair on League Two champions Cove Rangers, who –despite winning the title by 13 points – would be denied promotion and remain in the bottom tier.

Scotland’s longest-serving manager added: “From a footballing point of view, because I know how hard it is to win a league and get promoted, I would hate for the players and management of Cove to have that taken away.

“The League Two clubs were reportedly all together, but I can’t understand why Cove would want to take that success away from their players and staff.

“Don’t get me wrong, next season if we’re playing each other it will be the big derby game.

“But there are a lot of people at Cove I like and have a lot of respect for.

“And from a footballing point of view I know how hard the manager, his staff and the players have worked to win the league.

“It’s bad enough they’re not getting a chance to celebrate winning the league because of the current situation and then to have the promotion taken away from them and them to still be in the bottom league – that doesn’t sit well with me as a football person.”