Whitehaven chairman Tommy Todd has serious concerns over the future of League One from next season.

With the restructuring above in Super League and the Championship, League One will be reduced to a 12-team competition.

Todd said: "As we stand at this very moment, there are serious questions being asked about the future of the two bottom teams, Hemel Stags and West Wales Raiders.

"We keep hearing that Hemel might not be able to continue and that West Wales will not be allowed to continue. That would reduce the league to just 10 teams and nine home fixtures just isn’t enough to make it viable.”

There was a suggestion that the Oxford and Gloucester clubs, who left the competition last year, would get together and emerge as a new entity in Bristol but that doesn’t seem to have gone the way it was expected to.

There are also rumours all the time of interests from Ireland, Belgrade and New York starting off rugby league clubs at the lowest level in England.

"I have serious concerns of where League One is heading because, if we stay at that level next season, there won’t be many attractive fixtures to bring out the undecided fans," said Todd.

Whitehaven currently occupy the last play-off place but, if they are to earn promotion to the Championship, they will face a tough route.

They might have to beat leaders York and deny them the title in the final game on Sunday to make sure of a play-off place.

They can’t finish any higher than fifth so would then have a trip to either York or Bradford Bulls in the play-off semi-final.

A win there would put them in a final with Doncaster or Workington Town when they would have to travel.

Even if they lost, there would be one last chance – a winner-take-all clash with the bottom side in the Championship to determine the final promotion place.

If they are to avoid another season in what increasingly looks like a sub-standard League One, they will have to win possibly three tough games in a row – and nobody will be able to say they didn’t deserve it.