As league reconstruction talks move towards an eventual conclusion, some of the figures involved are beginning to play hardball.

Having considered the amendments on financial redistribution and governance requested by the Scottish Football League, the 12 Scottish Premier League clubs met yesterday and decided enough was enough: no more concessions, no more negotiations. If the SFL clubs take a similar stance, there will be a rift in the game.

That is where the process has reached: a point of no return. The SPL clubs resolved to vote – by written resolution – within the next 10 days. In the meantime, the SFL will hold it's annual general meeting on Thursday and, although league reconstruction is not formally on the agenda, it will be discussed. At stake is the size and shape of the game in this country.

As Ralph Topping, the SPL chairman, discussed yesterday's events in the organisation's Hampden boardroom it was impassible to mistake the heavy and blunt sound of an ultimatum being made. Without naming David Longmuir directly, Topping questioned the motives of the SFL chief executive and the reason behind the stalling of the process. There ought to have been a hint of irony, too, since the SPL failed to deliver a positive vote last month, leading to a public bout of civil war between some SPL chairman.

Nonetheless, Topping was making it plain that the proposed merger between the SPL and the SFL, which includes a wider financial distribution model and play-offs between the top flight and the second tier, would have to be agreed on the current terms. There are concerns among some SFL personnel about the governance of the new league – the fear is that the same people who run the SPL will run its successor – while a request was also made to take some of the new money that will go to second-tier clubs and filter that to the third and fourth divisions.

"We are giving away a lot in terms of financial distribution already," Topping said. "There [will be] a hell of a lot of money flowing down into the game below us and the changes around the play-offs constitute a big give on behalf of the SPL clubs. That's as far as we are going.

"There's a point where you have to question whether people are trying to stop something happening for a period of time. Do they have their own particular purposes behind that? Are they interested in their own future? Is there a degree of selfishness there? You have to ask yourself: if this was a sane world, what organisation would turn down the amount of money we're proposing should flow into the professional game?

"If they do turn it down, the question then becomes: as chief executive of the SFL, what the hell are you going to do to generate that amount of money for your members? Because those members have said that they need that money to keep their heads above water and thrive when they are ejected from the SPL. It's happened to Dunfermline, it's happened to Falkirk, and Hamilton haven't exactly bounced back, have they? They want the opportunity to bounce back."

The first division clubs currently play for £60,000 in prize money, and the new financial model would mean they would compete for, roughly, five times that amount. Ten clubs signed a letter on intent to resign from the SFL last month, which would free them to take up an invite from the SPL to form a second tier of that competition. The breakaway was averted by renewed talks on league reconstruction, and there is broad agreement on the major points. However, nobody can be sure of consensus, and a failure to reach agreement will almost inevitably lead to 10 or 12 clubs resigning to join the SPL.

It appears there is "unanimity" among SPL clubs – although they said that before the last vote was lost – and the first division clubs will clearly be in favour should the SFL move to a vote. Others are concerned, though, that the part-time, community clubs will be further marginalised. Currently, the SFL benefits from an annual settlement payment following the original SPL breakaway and some clubs would prefer to retain this arrangement.

Longmuir has also admitted to concerns about rushing the merger in time for next season. There are doubts about the financial stability of the SPL, since the competition does not have a new sponsor for next season and broadcast revenues suffered from Rangers' being in the third division. However, it appears that the time for further negotiations is over.

"Our guys said today that enough is enough," said Topping. "We're absolutely clear that this is for the benefit of Scottish football therefore we want the SFL to say yes. There's a point in any discussion when you say, 'Hey guys, that's it – the give has been given and there's no more take to be taken'. It's over to them.

"We are writing to the SFL on that basis. It's not for me to say that's a deal-breaker or not. If you are facing the prospect of not getting your hands on the money that is being talked about, can you honestly as a chief executive and board say 'We are doing the best for Scottish football? You would need to have your head looked at if you came up with a 'Yes' on that one.

"This is not complicated. We all live in the same corridor, we all meet each other daily. People want to put obstacles in the way and a bit of that happens for what we suspect are selfish reasons. It shouldn't happen. This is not a complex transaction. It could be done long before the season starts."