East Stirlingshire tell Brechin City ‘dry your eyes’ after Hedgemen launch bid to avoid play-off against Brora Rangers or Kelty Hearts

Brechin City have been told “dry your eyes” after launching a bid to deny Highland League champions Brora Rangers or Lowland League Kelty Hearts the chance to meet them in the pyramid play-offs.

According to a report, the SPFL’s bottom club have written to the league governing body’s board, claiming it would be “fundamentally unfair” to make them compete in the pyramid play-offs against Brora and Kelty, who were declared league winners after three and 13 games, respectively.

Instead, the League Two strugglers, who also finished rock-bottom when the 2019/20 season was curtailed due to Covid but were handed a reprieve, want reconstruction.

Brechin have demanded League Two be expanded from 10 to 12 teams, giving Brora and Kelty the chance to step up, while protecting themselves from exiting the Scottish league set-up.

However, their attempts have been met with widespread ridicule online, with East Stirlingshire – who were the first team to drop out of the SPFL in 2016 after the pyramid system was introduced – slamming the Hedgemen.

Now-Lowland League Shire tweeted:

Despite Brechin’s objections, earlier today, Brora tweeted a statement from chairman William Powrie which said they have “met all the necessary due diligence and ground criteria for entry into the SPFL” following an SPFL meeting yesterday.

However, it is still unclear when the Highland League champions will begin their pyramid play-offs campaign, which will see them play a two-legged semi-final against Kelty before the winner takes on Brechin home and away for a place in the SPFL.