Hearts' demotion to the Championship could be rubber stamped at meeting today

Hearts’ demotion to the Championship could be all but rubber stamped this afternoon.

A conference call is scheduled between the Scottish Premiership clubs and SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster to discuss ending the season.

It would see Celtic crowned champions and Hearts drop down into the second tier with the league concluded after 30 games on a points-per-game basis.

The Tynecastle side would be replaced by Dundee United who were determined Championship winners following the passing of the SPFL’s resolution which saw the lower leagues terminated using the average points system.

It has been reported by the Daily Record that the 12 top-flight sides agreed “unanimously” that the current campaign could not be finished at a meeting on Friday, the same day league reconstruction was scrapped.

Confirmation is not likely until next week, according to the BBC, when an SPFL board meeting takes place to approve the decision.

Hearts will weigh up their options if the decision is taken to relegate them from the Premiership.

In a statement on Saturday, Ann Budge expressed her disappointment, but not surprise, at the decision not to proceed with league reconstruction, and spoke of the next steps.

She said: “Please also be reassured that while the Premiership has not yet been called, should it be so, with Hearts expelled as a result, we will be taking further advice on what options are open to us and to other clubs in the same position, to formally challenge this outcome.”

Stranraer have confirmed they won’t ‘lie down and shut up’ about having relegation forced upon them. They, like Partick Thistle, have already been demoted.

“I’ve heard calls that it’s time to move on and put it behind us for the greater good of Scottish football and to heal wounds," Iain Dougan, the club’s chairman, told the Galloway Gazette.

“That’s easy to say if you’re not one of the affected clubs or you don’t feel wronged by the decisions made. From our point of view we still feel very much affected, both financially and from a sporting point of view.”