Former Celtic defender Erik Sviatchencho has insisted that his former colleagues would far rather win the title conventionally than have it declared as it currently stands.

With a chaotic SPFL vote eventually favouring a decision last week to end the Championhip, League One and League Two as it is, the likelihood is that after Thursday’s UEFA meeting with all 55 member clubs that the top flight could follow.

That would hand Celtic their ninth successive title and despite the manner in which Neil Lennon’s side have accelerated away from the pack in the latter half of the campaign, there have been accusations that a question mark will linger next to any championship that is called prematurely.

“I think it would feel very odd to win a championship in those kind of circumstances,” said Sviatchenko. “As a player, as supporters, you would never pick it to be this way. You would always want the chance to get out and play, without anyone suggesting that there is a question mark over you in any shape or form.

“I can see why other teams would have some objections when there are still points to play for but realistically when you look at it, it is a very big gap. To get to that number one position you have to have done a lot of work. But as a player I think you always want to do it the right way. If there is criticism about it then I think there are also some strong mitigating circumstances because we have to keep people safe and that has been the main concern these past few months.”

Sviatchenko was on his way to a title medal in his homeland with FC Midtjylland prior to the Coronavirus taking hold. With a 12-point lead over reigning champions Copenhagen, Midtjylland were on course to reclaim champion status.

The Danes are confident of getting football up and running within the next month and Sviatchechenko revealed that his current club has paved the way for an innovative return to football. Midtjylland have erected two giants screens in the car park of their MCH Arena with space for between 2,000 and 3,000 cars; the idea would be that each vehicle would hold two or three fans with the game shown live on the screens and commentary streamed through car radios. There is already scope for further screens to go up, if required.

“At Midtjylland we always like to think that we do things differently and this would be a little different,” said Sviatchenko. “It is getting people together without them being together, if that makes sense. If we can accommodate up to 3,000 cars with at least two or three fans in every car then I am sure that they would make an atmosphere outside.

“They would come with their shirts and scarfs and honk their horns and although it is not the same as us running out and playing in front of them, it is a feeling of connection at a time when that is otherwise impossible. For me, football is about community and togetherness and should be something that unites people. We all love to watch football and talk about football and this offers an innovative way to do that while also respecting the guidelines that we all need to continue to adhere to.”

That hasn’t been the only innovative approach to coping with lockdown.

“We are into the fifth week of lockdown but since the first week we have been training but in small groups,” said Sviatchenko. “It has been OK. We go to the training ground at different times and in very small groups, but not position specific. So we have a mix of players – defenders, midfielders, strikers – and we train outside and making sure that we are distanced. We aren’t hammering it, that wouldn’t be possible, but we are training and the coaches have been impressive in the way they have come up with some very imaginative drills for us to go through without being close to one another. We have been able to work on movement and things like that but it has also meant that physically we have stayed in good shape. Mentally we know that we might have to try and turn our heads back towards games soon because the talk is that we might resume matches in a month or so.

“We have been quite progressive in Denmark. We don’t know yet what is going to happen but we are still optimistic that in some way we can finish the season. We were supposed to have 12 games still to play but the discussions at the minute suggest that we could get that down to five games. Again, it gets complicated but some of the games were due to be played home and away and so there are still some question marks about how we would do it. The appetite is geared towards trying to complete the season but at the same time I think everyone appreciates that it is about safety first.”