Rob Baxter: Exeter chief saddened after Prim’s merit promotion ended

Baxter led Exeter to promotion to the First Division in 2010 – the club is the last team to be promoted from the Second Division and establish themselves in the First Division.

But Baxter says he also feels clubs must have the right infrastructure if they want to join the top flight.

Exeter spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on Sandy Park in the run-up to their two-legged final win over Bristol in order to ensure the club was allowed promotion.

Only one non-Premier League club – London Wales – have achieved promotion since Exeter moved their home matches to Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium so they could host at least 10,000 spectators.

Ealing and Jersey Reds have won the last four Championship titles, but neither team had a ground capable of hosting enough fans and they were not promoted.

“I can’t argue against the merit-based part, but at the same time I think it’s important for people to understand the rules for getting basic things like a 10,000-capacity stadium,” he said.

“These are not new rules, it’s not like anyone in the tournament has dropped these rules on them now, they’ve been there for years and years.

“If we are to take Ealing as an ideal, they have known for a long time that in order to get promotion, they would need to have a team worthy of promotion and a facility that can hold 10,000 people.

“Wasn’t that dropped on them in the last two years, and wasn’t it dropped six months before promotion? That’s my warning of everything.”