The Breedon Highland League season is set to be extended – but a champion will still need to be declared by April 20.
Secretary John Campbell has revealed plans are afoot to continue the campaign for a week or a fortnight beyond the scheduled final day of the season, which is April 20.
That would mean any potential relegation play-off between the Highland League’s bottom club and any eligible side from the North Region Juniors, North Caledonian League or Midlands League would be pushed back.
Of the clubs who meet the criteria, only Lochee United – who are second in the Midlands League – are in contention to win their league and go forward to a play-off.
However, an extension to the season won’t ease the fixture congestion faced by some of the clubs competing for the Highland League title.
The pyramid play-offs against the Lowland League champions and League Two’s bottom club are pencilled in to start on April 27 and can’t be moved.
Campbell said: “It is handy outwith the title race that we can extend slightly.
“The challenges we’ve had with postponements in the Highland League have been mirrored in the feeders leagues, particularly the Midlands League.
“We’ve had discussions with the appropriate bodies about extending things.
“We haven’t come to a finite agreement yet, but it is on the cards that if there is a Highland League relegation play-off, it will be pushed back a week or two weeks.
“The dates are still to be confirmed, but it will be a week or possibly two weeks later.”
Highland League title race congestion
When it comes to the title race, challengers Buckie Thistle (18 games played) and Brora Rangers (17 games played) have some catching up to do.
Leaders Brechin City have played 22 games, while Banks o’ Dee and Fraserburgh have both played a match more and Formartine United have played 21 fixtures.
Buckie and Brora have had issues playing games at home this winter, but Campbell is hopeful the situation will improve.
He added: “With the top end of the table, the difficulty we have is that there are five or six clubs still in the hunt to win the league.
“The pyramid play-off dates are set, so we need to have a champion club by April 20.
“So for the clubs that are challenging, we need to ensure they are finished so the champion club can go forward into the play-offs.
“It means things will be tight, but we hope that over the next few weeks we can get teams caught up and give them a fair chance.
“The weather since October has been the worst we’ve seen for some time.
“There has been rain or snow – often in significant quantities – every week since the start of October.
“It’s meant pitches haven’t had a chance to recover properly and then when games have been played on them it takes longer to recover.”
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