Coronavirus: Partick Thistle chief executive warning over delay
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Partick Thistle chief executive Gerry Britton says clubs are facing a 'tipping point'
Small Scottish clubs "could easily be pushed under" if the coronavirus lockdown extends into next season, says Partick Thistle chief executive Gerry Britton.
All SPFL football has been suspended indefinitely amid the outbreak, with no clarity over when matches will resume.
Currently there are eight rounds of fixtures still to be played across the divisions.
"It's massive across the whole game," Britton told BBC Scotland's Sportsound.
"We looked at one scenario where we wouldn't have any further income over the remainder of the season. At first estimates that would cost us anything upwards of £150,000. For a club our size with the turnover we have that's a massive impact.
"We are fortunate that we are in a situation where we don't have any debt. A club of our size may be able to pick up a shortfall.
"However, if there was a situation where it did roll into the new season then there would be serious repercussions for us in a financial sense."
When asked about the impact being worse for clubs who are not debt free, the Thistle chief added: "Without a doubt. There are clubs who work week-to-week and month-to-month. It is unprecedented and you are not catering for this in your budget.
"I genuinely fear for a lot of the smaller clubs who are on a real tipping point and a situation like this could very easily push some clubs under."
Partick Thistle find themselves in a precarious situation at the bottom of the Championship if the league season was to finish early.
The Glasgow club are two points adrift of second-bottom Queen of the South, but have a game in hand.
However, Britton says clubs at the top of the table should be rewarded for their success so far, even if clubs like his own avoid relegation.
"There's a number of scenarios being spoken about," he said. "If the league stops here then okay, teams have to be rewarded. We are into the last quarter, so the teams at the top need to be rewarded.
"It's hard not to be self-interested. When I look at it, the one proposal I've heard of the top two teams getting promoted with no relegation, of Kelty and Brora coming up, that works for me.
"If we did have an experiment with the top tier going up to 14 teams, we might find it works."