Hellenic Premier Divison champions Flackwell Heath are on the verge of declining promotion to the Southern League in order to safeguard the club’s future after a league reshuffle left them facing trips to a far afield as Devon.

When the Heathens stormed to the title by 12 points, having lost only once in 38 outings, they assumed they would be competing in the Southern Central division, where local matches against Chalfont St Peter, Beaconsfield and Marlow awaited – a mouth-watering prospect for the club.

But an FA approved restructuring saw Flackwell moved, along with Burnham and Marlow, to the South West division, leaving them to contemplate trips to Taunton Town and Bridgwater in Somerset, and a 320-mile round trip to play Tiverton Town in Devon – their furthest away match.

Flackwell, Burnham and Marlow all appealed the decision but at a Southern League meeting on Tuesday they were told the decision would not be reversed and that they have until Monday (June 15) to decide whether they will play in the league.

Heath are holding a committee meeting tonight (Friday) where they will decide whether to accept the promotion or whether they opt to compete in the Hellenic League again next season.

For the club’s manager, Graham Malcolm, there seems only one likely outcome.

He said: “It’s absolutely risking the club’s future which is why I believe that at the committee meeting they will advise to take relegation and go back down. That is exactly why we cannot go up.

“It’s devastating, what am I supposed to do? I’ve got to make a decision for me, for the club, the committee and then hope our players think ‘we’ll have another go’ [in the Hellenic League] but would they want to? I don’t know.”

The Heath boss reckons his team would clock up just under 4,000 miles worth of travelling if they were to accept promotion – more than double what they would do in the Central league – meaning that they would have to travel by coach rather than car to the majority of their away games – something which is not feasible for a club of Flackwell’s size.

“The extra travelling is [going to cost] about £15,000,” said Malcolm, who also guided the team to the Wycombe Senior Cup, the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup final and the last 16 of the FA Vase last season.

“We worked it out that we need 15 coaches out of 19 away trips, not including Marlow and Burnham plus the four which we could drive. On average they’re (coaches) are about £600 [a trip] and even that is being kind.

“That works out at about £15,000 when you factor in other expenses. Plus, are your players going to travel to Bridgwater and Tiverton on very small expense money when they could have been in the Central league? It’s just not going to happen.”

Marlow manager Mark Bartley branded the decision to move his club, who have been in the Central league for two seasons having won promotion from the Hellenic League themselves in 2013, “terrible” and believes it will severely impact crowds at Oak Tree Road and travelling supporters, which will in turn reduce his playing budget.

He said: “I’m not over egging it by saying they may as well put all three of us as relegation candidates. We will be the three favourites for relegation because we had no idea we’d be in this position.”

Bartley has already seen top scorer Lee Barney leave for Ryman Premier side Wingate and Finchley, believing that uncertainty over where the club would be playing next season contributed to the striker’s decision to leave.

The Marlow boss says the remaining members of his squad from last season have re-signed and he expects that the club will now be playing in the South West division when the line-up is rubberstamped at the Southern League’s AGM on June 20.

Player recruitment for the upcoming campaign has been on hold for Flackwell, with Malcolm’s plans left in tatters by the league shake-up, which came as a result of Clevedon Town being kicked out of the South West league after their floodlights failed to meet the required standard.

Malcolm will meet with his title winning players on Tuesday, and he expects to be able to bring them a decision about where the club will play next season following discussions at the committee meeting.

Heath are still a Hellenic League side until they formally accept the promotion to become a Southern League team, a prospect which looks unlikely, meaning the club could be again be competing in the division which they won last season.

“Unless someone has found £15,000 by the time we get to the committee meeting – and even if they did we’ve still got to ask our players to do all that travelling on a very small wage – it’s not going to happen,” said Malcolm.

“I feel equally sorry for Burnham and Marlow because they’ve both got the same story. Burnham would have to take two relegations to not do it and Marlow, who have been in the Central league, have to make a sideways move for no apparent reason.

“I don’t know what the other clubs are doing but I’d be very surprised if all three of us are in the South and West league next season.”