'Fundamentally flawed' Scottish Premiership artificial pitch ban proposal assessed by Raith Rovers CEO Andrew Barrowman

Having only missed out on promotion by losing this season’s play-off final to Ross County, Raith have aspirations to go one better next term, but if they do go up they face having to rip up their exisiting 3G Stark’s Park surface within a year and replace it with a grass pitch, with the considerable initial costs supplemented by an estimated annual £750,000 maintenance bill.

This is because top flight clubs are expected to have an immiment vote – with nine needed to be in favour for it to pass – on excluding clubs with plastic pitches from the top division within two years.

This announcement last week saw Raith and five other SPFL clubs with similar playing surfaces, Falkirk, Airdrieonians, Hamilton

Accies, Cove Rangers and Queen of the South, send a letter to the SPFL board branding the proposal “fundamentally flawed”, while suggesting a number of compromises to ensure “sporting integrity”.

Rovers chief Barrowman told Raith TV: "There’s been a spanner in the works in terms of artificial pitches which will come in the not too distant future. I’m sure the news will break.

"We have to be mindful of this. We’ll never do anything that puts the club at risk.

"It will run its course. The Premier League clubs will vote on it, probably this week or next week and that’s where we are, we can’t affect that.

"The purpose of the joint statement last week was really to let people know where it was.

"Too often these things get done behind a closed door, decisions that really affect clubs, fans, the people that really matter don’t really get consulted.

"So the purpose of that joint statement was to let people know exactly the work that had been done and spark a bit of debate, spark a bit of conversation and it certainly has done that.

"Not all of it is in our favour but that’s fine, that’s healthy.

"And I think it’s shown that we were right to do what we did and it remains to be seen if any of that will be heeded.

"It’s something that’s outwith our control now.”