Hearts' last chance of avoiding the drop will be debated by the SPFL board on Wednesday with hopes of an 11th hour reconstruction still not dead.
Record Sport can reveal the Hampden top brass will dial into a conference call at 10am to discuss Tynecastle owner Ann Budge’s proposal for a 14 team top flight next season.
And Rangers are also expected to present their plan B to the governing body for a new look 14-14-18 three division set-up.
The discussions come after league chief executive Neil Doncaster canvassed all 42 clubs asking for them to email feedback on any potential proposals to rush through emergency change for next season.
A rejig of the current structure could save Hearts from relegation and also prevent Partick Thistle from dropping through the divisions as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
The deadline for those responses passed yesterday afternoon and it’s understood the mood for a possible revamp was more positive than had been widely anticipated.
Doncaster will now present the feedback to his fellow directors before debating what shape - if any - the most viable reconstruction might take.
Hearts have also backed the Ibrox club’s blueprint which would allow both Rangers and Celtic to launch B teams into a beefed-up bottom tier next season, along with Highland League champions Brora Rangers and Lowland League title winners Kelty Hearts.
Celtic are also prepared to throw their weight behind the plan. But it’s far from certain that the required number of lower league clubs will be prepared to vote it through despite various financial incentives from welcoming the Old Firm’s colts into the fold.
But one club source told Record Sport: “There was a feeling the entire reconstruction debate would be declared a dead duck. That’s not the case.
“There does seem to be a willingness among many clubs to right the most obvious wrongs of Covid-19 but there’s a lot of talking to be done in order to make that happen. The positive news is there is certainly a feeling that more clubs may be more open minded to it than had been expected by Neil and the SPFL board.”
