THERE will be no change to the structure of next season's SPFL after a ballot on reconstruction proposals, it has been announced.

The governing body have confirmed that there was not enough support showed by member clubs to switch to a 14-10-10-10 format for the forthcoming campaign.

Only 16 clubs out of 42 put forward views that were in favour of the fresh proposal, which has led the SPFL board to "draw a line under reconstruction talks".

The outcome of this morning's indicative vote means that Hearts, who finished bottom of the Premiership, will be relegated to the Championship, with Partick Thistle and Stranraer taking the drop to League One and League respectively.

However, it means that Kelty Hearts - winners of the Lowland League - and their Highland League counterparts, Brora Rangers, will be denied the chance to take their place in the SPFL next season.

It has also been announced that the Championship, following a vote of clubs, will start in October, with teams playing each other three times instead of four.

Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said: "In recent weeks, we've been consulting closely with our clubs regarding possible reconstruction and, based on the feedback we received, the board decided to ask all 42 clubs to give their views so that we could have absolute clarity, which we've achieved today.

"Whilst a number of clubs were in favour of a new divisional set-up, the support for it was insufficient and we will now move forward with a fixture programme for season 2020/21 based on the current 12-10-10-10 structure.

"Due to the restrictions forced upon us by the Coronavirus outbreak, the Championship clubs also voted overwhelmingly to play each other three times next season, rather than four, which enables a later start to the Championship league season.

"Now that we have a confirmed structure for next season, the SPFL's fixturing team will begin work on the Premiership fixture list, which will start on the weekend of 1 August, and the Championship fixture list, which will start on the weekend of 17 October."

Discussions over the start of League One and League Two are ongoing.