I'm still supporter of relegation - Diamond

NEWCASTLE may be adrift at the bottom of the Premiership but Steve Diamond remains an advocate for promotion and relegation.

- PAUL REES

The Falcons will be in the top flight next season because only one Championship club met the entry criteria for the top flight – Doncaster, who will finish among the also-rans.

“One of the biggest hurdles is the criteria, but you need to have minimum standards in the governance of any sport,” said Diamond, the consultant rugby director at Newcastle who earlier this year advised the second tier clubs and the RFU during talks over revamping the Championship.

“I believe in promotion and relegation, and not many would say that in my position. It brings jeopardy and that means you operate at a different level because of the motivation it brings. I am still on honeymoon at Newcastle because we cannot go down.

“If there are clubs who have the ambition of being promoted, and I would guess there are half-a-dozen of them, they should be able to if they meet the criteria.