Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness has accused bosses of some of the Scottish Premier League's smaller clubs of not having the vision or guts to stand up to the Old Firm.

Wyness admitted on BBC Radio Scotland's Your Call that the majority of the 10 non-Old Firm clubs now wanted to make comprimises to Celtic and Rangers to resolve the long-running split within Scotland's top league.

But he called on fans of other clubs to lobby their chairmen and demand that they stand firm against the Old Firm.

All 12 clubs have a crunch meeting on 22 January, when they will hope to resolve the arguments over new media rights and voting procedures that led to the non-Old Firm clubs giving two years' notice to leave the SPL.

These things are swinging back and forth like a pendulum Aberdeen chief Keith Wyness

It is being suggested that Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian stand alone in taking a hard line against the demands of Celtic and Rangers.

And Wyness admitted: "It's fair to say that they are polarising quite a bit."

The other clubs had started off firmly behind the need for a change to the 11-1 majority required to change league rules, which effectively gave the Old Firm a veto, and opposed to Old Firm demands about the ownership of new media rights.

Wyness refused to admit defeat and stressed: "These things are swinging back and forth like a pendulum, but this is not the time to be giving in."

He thought that recent remarks by Celtic chief executive Ian MacLeod, again stressing that Celtic saw their long-term future in the English Premiership, could lure clubs away from appeasers like Livingston chairman and Celtic fan Dominic Keane.

I would encourage fans of other clubs to talk to their directors and chairmen Aberdeen chief Keith Wyness

"It is unfortunate that some of the other chairmen and chief executives don't have the vision and the guts to stand up and be counted at this time," he said.

"I don't understand why Dominic and others among the 10 want to make concessions to Celtic on a short-term basis when they won't be around for the future of Scottish football.

"It is not a time to take a short-term fix on things and I would encourage fans of other clubs to talk to their directors and chairmen and ask where they stand on this, because it means a lot to try and get the competitiveness back into the league.

"That is what we are all about and we should be applauded by many fans for doing that."