Stephen Thompson, the Dundee United chairman, has urged clubs in Scotland to think of the "greater good" rather than self-interest when voting on league reconstruction next week.
Last Monday, St Mirren confirmed that they will vote against the proposals for a 12-12-18 set-up, meaning that only one other no vote amongst Scottish Premier League clubs will block the plans.
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Ross County have long been critical of aspects of the reconstruction plans, and their chairman, Roy MacGregor, confirmed that he will consult with supporters, his manager Derek Adams – who has described the plans as "ridiculous" – and the rest of his board before deciding on a formal position on Friday.
He is likely to come under serious lobbying from other SPL clubs, however Ross County are currently expected to also vote no when the SPL clubs meet on Monday. That would render the voting meeting of Scottish Football League clubs next Friday as academic.
The concerns about the plans are about the frustration amongst supporters about the 12-12 set-up of the two top leagues, which will break into an 8-8-8 structure midway through the season.
St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour is also concerned about the impact of the new financial model, although there is a general consensus that spreading more money amongst a larger number of clubs will be beneficial.
The creation of a single league body is also popular, but MacGregor is concerned about the potential loss of season ticket revenue as fans cannot be certain that games their team will be playing over the course of the campaign.
"There are a lot of things in the plans that are right, but a lot that are wrong and there is still a lot more talking to be done," MacGregor said. "My worry has been the supporters have been forgotten about in all of this. In the long term, this may be the start of people not buying season tickets. People may be unsure about what they are buying into. It is complicated and people have perhaps been trying to rush this too quickly.
"Everyone wants one league body. Everyone wants a redistribution of money down the leagues from the SPL. Everyone wants more competition with play-offs. There are some really good things in the plans. The difficulty is the number of teams in the league, whether that is 12, 14, or 16. The difficult part is most people recognise clubs need a minimum of 36 games for the revenue required to run a full-time club."
Thompson, however, believes that clubs need to put individual concerns aside in the belief that league reconstruction will benefit the game in general. "If I was thinking solely about Dundee United I wouldn't vote for this," Thompson said. "But this package is the right way forward for everyone. What has made me change my mind about it? The clubs in the first division are struggling. If you get relegated then it's a disaster financially and we have to address that.
"The all-through distribution model is a huge thing. It means the money goes right through the leagues. The clubs in the first division will get £350,000 instead of a fraction of that. We need to push money down the leagues for everyone's benefit. And getting one league body is a step in the right direction.
"There are things in the package I don't like, such as stadium criteria. But I am prepared to overlook that for the greater good of the game.
"There's no Plan B on this. There's no SPL2. There's no other votes going to happen. If it doesn't go through then I fear where we're going to be five or six years from now. Something needs to happen to change things."
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