ST MIRREN manager Jim Goodwin insists he has sympathy for Hearts counterpart Daniel Stendel after admitting he believes the Gorgie outfit are destined to be playing Championship football next season.

Goodwin cannot foresee the Premiership campaign being played to its natural conclusion and reckons any league reconstruction proposal will also fail to garner enough votes from clubs.

The gravity of basement side Hearts’ predicament is not lost on Goodwin after Saints beat their relegation rivals and moved six points clear of 12th place just two days before football was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Defeat for the Buddies on March 11 would have led to Goodwin’s side slumping to the bottom.

And Goodwin envisages that the current campaign will be called based on current standings just like what happened with the bottom three tiers.

He said: “Of course I have sympathy for Daniel Stendel and all the other managers who are affected by it, (Partick Thistle boss) Ian McCall.

“Hearts are where they are for a reason. They have only won four games all season and that’s why they find themselves bottom of the table. 

“They had eight games to go, they could have gone and won all of those games but it would have been highly unlikely with the form they were in. 

“It’s all hypothetical, nobody expected Hearts to be where they are. If we have to go and play and finish the season we’ll all go and do that but for me that’s not an option. 

“Is league reconstruction going to happen, I just can’t see it happening or the votes going through.

“I don’t envy the position the SPFL are in and those guys who have got to make that difficult decision. 

“It’s not going to be to the liking of everyone, of course there’s clubs affected already in the leagues below if things stand without the reconstruction going through, Stranraer and Partick and teams like that are going to be really disappointed.

“If we do call it then of course Celtic become champions and Hearts are relegated.”

Speaking to Clyde FM, Goodwin, who was appointed Buddies boss last summer after leaving Alloa, said: “It is unfair and it is unfortunate position that Hearts find themselves in but what else can we do?
“I listen to all the talk about reconstruction and there are so many opinions on it, where do we go with it?

“If this hadn’t had happened and the league would have panned out the way it was supposed to then I  don't think there would be any talk of league reconstruction whatsoever because I actually think all of the leagues from the Premiership down to League Two with the play-offs introduced and everything, I think the leagues are the most exciting they’ve been forever.

“I do wonder sometimes if it wasn’t such big clubs who were involved in it would we be having such an in-depth discussion? But that’s another topic I suppose.”