Why Aberdeen vs Kilmarnock should be postponed - but it won't

Derek McInnes' side are scheduled to travel to Pittodrie this Sunday - a fixture which is sandwiched in between their crucial Europa Conference League play-off against FC Copenhagen.

The tie is worth £5m – potentially even more.

This Thursday when Kilmarnock take to the field at the Parken Stadium to face FC Copenhagen, they know they’re potentially just 180 minutes away from reaching the newly-formed league phase of the Europa Conference League. Yes, you read that correctly.

It’s a long shot, for sure. FC Copenhagen is a club of European pedigree, with millions in the bank and a budget that dwarves Killie. As has been well-documented, they competed well in the Champions League last season against the likes of Manchester United, City, Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.

To put it bluntly, given the disparity between the resources of each club, there’s no way the Danish giants should be losing to a Scottish Premiership side, perhaps other than to Celtic and Rangers.

To quote Yoda from nearly everyone’s favourite Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, ‘Size matters not’.

Derek McInnes and his players have earned the right to be in the position they find themselves in – which, as a reminder, is two games away from a spot in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa Conference League and the multi-millions of revenue that would unlock for the club.

It would be hugely beneficial for Killie, with that sort of money unachievable – even for the Old Firm – in the tiny pool every team paddles in within Scotland. It would also be helpful to the greater good of Scottish football should Killie pull off what could only be regarded as an almighty shock and defeat Copenhagen over two legs.

As we touched upon in last week’s piece with Gavin Noon from Scotland’s Coefficient, if the country is to retain a top 12 place in the UEFA rankings, then it needs as many of its teams involved in European competition for as long as possible. Should Killie make it, not only would they earn another 0.2 points to the coefficient, but they would guarantee themselves a further six matches in the tournament, which could prove crucial for the rankings come the end of the season. Let’s face it, aside from Rangers on a few occasions over the past six years or so, no other Scottish team (ourselves included) has stepped up to the mark, so if Scotland had four representatives (Celtic, Rangers, Hearts & Killie) involved in the league phases of the Champions League, Europa League & Europa Conference League, then that can only be looked upon in a positive light.

All of this is exactly why Killie’s league fixture away to Aberdeen this weekend should be postponed.

Whether the club’s chiefs decide to request it or not, it’s not every day that a club of Killie’s size has the opportunity to reach such a prestigious level of continental football. I’d like to think those in power throughout the professional ranks would not be so dogmatic and narrow-minded to ignore that.

As things stand, it’s understood Killie have not requested the fixture to be called off, nor indeed have they contacted the SPFL. Reports to the contrary are believed to be inaccurate.

In any case, the postponement of a fixture needs to be discussed and mutually agreed upon by both clubs. It would then be taken to the league’s governing body at this stage. So, however much I and many others may believe it’s the correct course of action, it is likely a non-starter because Aberdeen will rightly see it as the perfect opportunity to rack up another three points against a tired and depleted team while continuing to build momentum under new head coach Jimmy Thelin. There is also the small matter of tickets and hospitality packages sold to factor in on their part, as, after all, it’s their home game.

That said, despite the tedious nature of the process, that doesn’t mean a call-off isn’t the right thing to do.