EVATT THE OPTIMIST

EFL ruling gives Bluebirds hope

- Matt Badcock

BARROW boss Ian Evatt says the EFL’s decision to reject the proposal from League Two clubs to scrap relegation this season has given their own promotion hopes a boost – and the Bluebirds chief insists it’s only right two National League clubs get to reach the ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’.

Evatt’s Barrow sit four points clear of Harrogate Town in the National League table with the regular season abandoned in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Non-League’s top league competition has been waiting on tenterhooks for what the EFL decide before coming to their own decision on how to conclude the season. Play-offs are potentially still on the table, while Barrow would top the league based on points per game (PPG).

That outcome appeared to take a step forward this week when the EFL announced their own recommended framework that includes the retention of promotions and relegations based on an unweighted PPG system.

Last week, League Two clubs voted to end their season with 20 of the 24 clubs asking the EFL Board to consider suspending relegation. That was effectively thrown out on Wednesday with the league saying “the principles of relegation across all three divisions is integral to the integrity of the pyramid from Premier League down to the National League.”