ST MIRREN and Kilmarnock could still find themselves locked in a relegation battle even if basement club Gretna go bust before the end of the season, the Evening News can reveal today.
While it has been taken for granted by many that the relegation issue would be settled should the cash-strapped basement club fold, the News has learned that SPL rules state otherwise.
In the wake of Gretna's defeat by Dundee United and with ben
efactor Brooks Mileson severely ill following a brain infection, interim head coach Mick Wadsworth was unable to guarantee they'd be in a position to complete their fixtures.
However, if that proves to be the case, Saints and Killie won't be able to breath easy as SPL rules state that at the end of the season the bottom club will be relegated to the First Division.
A source told the News: "It's quite clear, it doesn't say that if a club doesn't make it to the end of the season then they are the ones to be relegated. We would then have an 11-team league and it would be the team in 11th place which goes down, provided the top team in the First Division meets SPL criteria."
Promotion rivals Hamilton and Dundee have until March 31 to do so but it would appear certain both would be SPL compliant, thus thrusting the issue of relegation back into the equation.
While everyone would far rather see Gretna limp through to the end of the season, possibly even in administration, which would trigger a ten-point penalty, SPL officials are believed to be considering how to deal with the nightmare scenario which would arise should they fail to do so.
If the points gained by Gretna were to be removed all together from the records the main beneficiaries would be Dundee United, who have lost twice against them while the big losers would be Hibs, Rangers, Motherwell and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who have taken a maximum nine points from three games.
Simply allowing results thus far to stand and awarding the points from matches outstanding against Gretna to the opposition would also cause problems as it could affect clubs involved in a fight for a top-six finish.
Kilmarnock would certainly be unhappy at such a ruling, Jim Jefferies players having taken just four points out of nine from Gretna while St Mirren, a single point behind them in the table, have only played the Black and Whites once and would obviously benefit.
One other possibility is that the SPL could loan the club enough money to see out the remainder of the fixtures. SPL secretary Ian Blair said: "There is no precedent for this, but the SPL have a facility to provide loan agreements to clubs in financial difficulty."
The full article contains 471 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
