Gordon McDougall believes Scottish football clubs will just have to deal with any financial fallout caused by placing the newco Rangers into the Third Division.
The Livingston chairman will be in attendance at Hampden on Friday as Scottish Football League clubs vote on whether or not to allow Charles Green’s Sevco Scotland Limited into their league.
Pressure has been applied on chairmen to instead admit Rangers into the First Division, in exchange for a raft of proposals relating to league reconstruction and a redistribution of wealth for the benefit of second tier clubs.
Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster has warned a £2m payment from the top flight to the SFL will be cut off if Rangers are to play in the Third Division.
His counterpart at the Scottish FA, Stewart Regan, similarly has predicted the “slow, lingering death” of the national game, with the SPL warning it stands to lose £15.7m a year in TV money without Rangers in Division One.
McDougall though believes all clubs in Scotland require a financial reality check and that any move to have Rangers leapfrog two divisions in exchange for more money contributes further to an already unsustainable model.
"Our clubs face ruin if in fact Neil Doncaster's threats have any substance,” he told STV. “Every Scottish club is living beyond their means - particularly in the SPL.
"The danger is that SPL clubs go into administration or liquidation. If they do, they are living beyond their means and, if so, we need to reconstruct our game.
"Let's just let it bottom out. There is never a good time for clubs to go under but it is as good a time as any.”
McDougall confirmed his club will vote for Rangers to play in the Third Division, despite the lack of information on Sevco Scotland’s financial future or on who is involved with the company.
"I want Rangers back in football as quickly as possible,” he said. “But it must be done realistically and with a degree of certainty.
"This isn't against Rangers. I think they will come back strongly. But any new company can do no other than start in Division Three."
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