‘Call the season now’ - club wants clarity

Cowdenbeath have called for a declaration of the season. Picture: SNS

Further talks will be held over the next two days in a bid to secure more clarity on the fate of the current season.

A Cowdenbeath club statement read: “Our own view is that season 2019/20 is unlikely to resume and thus we believe it should be called now on an as it stands basis. “There are of course a range of views including those of Uefa. The benefit of calling the season now is that it offers a degree of clarity as opposed to continuing uncertainty.

“It will hopefully unlock distribution of SPFL positional based fees for season 2019/20, allows us to more clearly plot our cashflow position for the coming months, lets clubs turn their attention to player contracts (which in our case mostly expire early in June), gives certainty that we will not be called back into action at short notice, and clubs know which league they will be in next season – whenever football does eventually resume.”

St Mirren became the latest club to furlough players and other staff, less than 24 hours after Rangers announced wage deferrals for players and coaching staff plus utilising Government grants for other employees. The likes of Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton and Edinburgh City have also announced this week that they are using the furlough scheme. Airdrie have parted company with assistant manager Colin Cameron on “mutually agreeable terms” as they seek to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic.

A number of clubs have reported major progress on fundraising initiatives. Dunfermline fans have supplied £35,000 to their club, just short of their target, while Fife rivals Raith Rovers are closing in on their revised £50,000 target. However, clubs will be pushing the league for more certainty today, with the SPFL board set to discuss options earlier in the day.