SPFL: Neil Doncaster told Aberdeen vote was not needed

Image source, SNS

Image caption, Dave Cormack says Aberdeen back calls for an independent review into the SPFL's recent actions

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster told Aberdeen their vote on ending the lower-league season was not needed, chairman Dave Cormack has revealed.

The Scottish Premiership club have echoed calls by Rangers and Hearts for an independent review.

Before the deadline, Doncaster told undecided Aberdeen their vote would be moot as the threshold for it to pass in the top flight had been reached.

"I don't have a problem with Neil getting involved," Cormack said.

The Aberdeen chairman, who revealed his club are losing 拢1m a month, added: "Neil didn't push us either way on the conversations we had."

A total of 81% of Scotland's 42 senior clubs backed the resolution to end the lower-league season after Dundee's late change of heart.

No decision has yet been made on the Premiership, with a Uefa meeting next week expected to provide clarity for top-flight leagues across Europe.

Cormack added: "The sensible thing to do would be to take a deep breath and say: 'Look, let's get a temporary change in place for this coming season.' Because, boy, we have so many other things to focus on.

"We'd be as well taking 拢1m out to the car park at Pittodrie and setting fire to it. Every month that this goes by, it's costing us 拢1m and costing other clubs different amounts."

'We'd be as well setting fire to 拢1m in the car park'

Image source, SNS

Image caption, Dave Cormack said Neil Doncaster contacted him before the vote deadline

Cormack revealed that he had a video call with Doncaster on Friday, at which they discuss how can we get back to playing football and survive; how they end the Premiership; what will the reconstruction task force work towards; and how they "draw a line in the sand" in any investigation into the vote.

"We can sit and talk for hours on what happened and why it happened - but look, it's happened. We need to learn from this," Cormack added.

"I said to Neil: 'If I were in your position, then I would show some contrition for what has happened.' Clearly, it is a vote that was forced down our throats in many ways, and that's obvious.

"It all comes back to the 48 hours we were given [before voting on the SPFL proposal to call the lower leagues] and this needed a lot more time for discussion."

Cormack says Aberdeen are in favour of an expanded 14-team Scottish Premiership for one or two seasons.

"We think that's the fair thing to do for everybody," he said.

The SPFL have yet to comment.