YORK City chairman Steve Beck and his fellow heads of Third Division clubs were today discussing plans for the introduction of a pilot salary cap scheme for next season.

The Football League are planning to introduce the salary capping rule across the whole league for the 2004-05 season, but first they are keen to run it for a year in the Third Division to see whether the policy will work.

If the proposal is accepted, Third Division clubs will be expected to comply to a salary cap that works off 60 per cent of their income.

However, as the scheme is classed as a 'pilot', any club that doesn't follow the rules to the letter - a possibility as some players come to the end of big money deals signed before the collapse of ITV Digital - will not be punished.

Beck believed the plan - to be discussed at the second day of the FL annual meeting at Gillingham's Priestfield stadium - is the way forward for clubs.

He told the Evening Press: "I think the proposal will go through because it is only a pilot scheme, with no real power to punish clubs who don't comply.

"To be honest though, I think the system will self-regulate itself, because this is the way football is going.

"I have been speaking to Lincoln's chairman Rob Bradley, who I know quite well, and he has said their finances already fit well within the limit, as do ours. Most clubs will be in the same position, although there will be a few who still have players coming to the end of two or three-year deals.

"Effectively each club will work off a budget of their income, with a maximum of 60 per cent for wages, so if you have an income of £1million you can spend £600,000 on wages.

"There are some things which will not count in your income and the expenditure, so it will take a little while for clubs to iron these problems out, but that is why it would be a year's pilot scheme.

"The Football League would see if it can work over the year and then come back to next year's annual meeting and look to implement it across the whole board."

Beck, who is hoping to see the proposal accepted, has emphasised that the Minstermen's budget already falls well within the criteria set out.

"Even before the proposal we were looking to work off these sorts of figures," added Beck. "When we took our bid to take over the club across to the Football League they said about this proposal and we told them we already fell into it.

"Other clubs might find it a struggle as they have players on the final year of deals, but they will have a 12-month turn around period."

Updated: 11:02 Friday, June 06, 2003