Peterhead boss Jim McInally offers idea on how to finish SPFL season and brands self-interest in Scottish football ’embarrassing’

Peterhead boss Jim McInally has revealed his idea for how to finish this season as Scottish football’s infighting continues.

An attempt to end the Championship, League One and League Two seasons descended into chaos on Friday with Dundee not casting their vote and holding the balance of power.

Arguments have raged and it appears there could be legal battles on the horizon.

Blue Toon manager McInally reckons the 2019-20 season should be played to a finish in a bid to achieve unity within the game.

With Scottish football suspended until at least June 10, he believes an August restart is realistic as with the country hoping to have control of the coronavirus pandemic by then.

Scotland’s longest serving manager would like the remaining league fixtures and Scottish Cup to be played.

McInally would then start the 2020-21 campaign after a couple of weeks’ break and play three rounds of fixtures in each division before finishing with a Premiership-style split.

For one season he would make the Betfred Cup straight knockout and limit the Challenge Cup to League One and Two teams.

He would also include Highland League champions Brora Rangers and the Lowland League winners, which look like being Kelty Hearts, in the 2020-21 pyramid play-offs along with next season’s Highland and Lowland champions and League Two’s bottom side for this term and next in an expanded one-off play-off set-up.

McInally would like to see a percentage of prize money paid to clubs now based on current positions and the rest paid once the season had been concluded.

With many player contracts up at the end of May, McInally believes it would just have to be accepted that teams could resume with different squads.

He said: “The only way we’re going to get any common sense in my opinion is to conclude the season.

“But realistically it can only be concluded within next season’s calendar so that’s my thinking.

“It’s looks like there’s going to be legal cases which aren’t what Scottish football needs.

“The only way to stop that is to conclude the season and that takes all these people who are squabbling out of the equation.

“All these people are being driven by self-interest. If the season is played to a finish my team could get relegated.

“It would be easy for me and for Peterhead as a club to say that we just want it called off now because we’d stay in League One.

“But it’s not about self-interest for me it’s about Scottish football’s survival.

“There are plenty of holes in what I’m suggesting, who goes into Europe is one.

“But maybe the Premiership will be able to restart earlier and finish behind closed doors to solve that problem.

“The pyramid play-off idea may seem complicated, but I don’t think Brora and Kelty can just be discarded.

“When it comes to contracts and transfers it would just have to be accepted that teams would be able to strengthen ahead of the restart, but I know managers and football people would  accept that.

“I know people might just dismiss my idea but I’ve just tried to look at a way of trying to stop all these arguments.”

McInally is concerned at how Scottish football has dealt with governance issues that have resulted from the Covid-19 outbreak.

He added: “The main thing for me is that game survives and goes on.

“In the midst of what’s going on in the world right now there’s people who seem to be enjoying having the arguments and the fame and power.

“It all comes from self-interest and I’d like to do away with that and try to agree to finish the season.

“But in agreeing that we should be realistic and try to finish it from August onwards because it doesn’t look possible before then.

“What happened on Friday and Saturday was ridiculous and nobody seems to trust one another.

“With everything that is going on in the world if people in Scottish football can’t put their self-interested aside during these times then there’s no hope for us.

“We’re in the midst of pandemic that has changed everyone’s lives beyond recognition and nobody could have foreseen it a few months ago.

“There’s been so much loss of life in this country and around the world, yet in Scottish football it still doesn’t seem like we’re capable of putting self-interest aside and it’s embarrassing.”