Jim McInally insists it would be wrong to relegate Peterhead, Clyde and Forfar in potential reconstruction plans.
One of the options being considered by the SPFL’s taskforce assessing reconstruction for next season is to revert to three leagues of 14.
That would lead to the Bully Wee, the Blue Toon and the Loons – seventh, eighth and ninth in League One – being relegated to the bottom division along with 10th-placed Stranraer.
The proposal would result in the Championship’s bottom club Partick Thistle avoiding relegation, while Premiership Hearts would also avoid the drop if the top flight season can’t be completed.
Elgin chairman Graham Tatters, who has previously said reconstruction should not be debated at this time, indicated last weekend that all League Two clubs were supporting three tiers of 14.
Scotland’s longest-serving manager McInally said: “This proposal of 14-14-14 would go against the whole point of the reconstruction taskforce: to protect sporting integrity and ensure there was no relegation.
“It would be totally immoral for Peterhead, Clyde and Forfar to be relegated as a result of this.
“It would show once again that nobody cares about the smaller part-time teams and it would just be wrong.
“It would see Hearts and Partick Thistle get saved but essentially says three wee teams can get relegated and who cares.
“Clyde were seventh, we were eighth and Forfar were ninth in the table and now could go down if this proposal is voted through, yet Hearts who are bottom of the Premiership – and have been just about since day one – would survive.
“Graham Tatters from Elgin went from saying reconstruction should be put on the back burner because there were bigger issues to address to then saying there had been a meeting and all the League Two clubs were supporting this idea.
“That is incredible coming from a man who said he didn’t want to talk about reconstruction and that it shouldn’t be on the agenda.
“If that’s true what Tatters has said then I find it an incredible stance to go from not wanting to talk about reconstruction to supporting it.”
McInally also believes the proposal wouldn’t be fair on fellow north-east side Cove Rangers.
They romped to the League Two title but would be denied promotion and remain in the bottom tier of the SPFL if the structure changed to three leagues of 14.
McInally added: “The League Two clubs were reportedly all together but I can’t understand why Cove would want to take that success away from their players and staff.
“Don’t get me wrong next season when we’re playing each other it will be the big derby game.
“But there are a lot of people at Cove I like and have a lot of respect for and from a footballing point of view I know how hard the manager, his staff and the players have worked to win the league.
“It’s bad enough they’re not getting a chance to celebrate winning the league because of the current situation and then to have the promotion taken away from them and to still be in the bottom league – that doesn’t sit well with me as a football person.”
