Taranaki quash Chinese Whispers | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

It has spread like wild fire from Wellington, Wanganui, Palmerston North through to Hawke's Bay but Team Taranaki soccer coach Ian McGrath says stop the rot.

McGrath prefers to play the game of soccer, not Chinese Whispers.

As far as he's concerned his team is not getting the boot from the Central League because they finished as the wooden spooners end of last month.

"There's a scheduled play-off and yes it's going ahead," he told SportToday as Cru-Bar Maycenvale United are on track to play them in the promotion-relegation home-and-away matches later this month.

After overwhelming Capital League champions Upper Hutt City 3-0 at Akina Park, Hastings, last Saturday, the Lotto Federation League champions first have to play Upper Hutt away this Saturday at 2pm before focusing on Taranaki.

It would have to be an unmitigated disaster for the Bill Robertson-coached Vale team not to book a date with Taranaki on an aggregate, even if they lose.

The games against Taranaki are scheduled to be played at Akina Park on September 18 and away at Merrilands, the home of the New Plymouth Rangers Football Club, on September 25 to decide if the incumbents stay or Vale will enter a new realm of winter competition.

McGrath said he had spoken to Capital Football who had confirmed to him the play-offs would remain, following the script the organisers had set out at the start of the season.

"There's been a lot of talking and rumours this season but most people I know don't listen to rumours, they listen to facts."

At the crux of all the speculation is the fact that Team Taranaki are the only competitors in the Central League who have a composite team of several clubs from their province. The other nine hopefuls are all club teams.

Taranaki entered the league four years ago and have finished dead last twice - their first season and this season. The other seasons they finished seventh and eighth.

In their first season, Gisborne City folded so Capital Football invited them back for the next season.

McGrath also confirmed Team Taranaki had no interest in any suggestions of playing their home-and-away at a neutral venue such as Skoglund or Memorial parks in Palmy North.

"Central League is all about travelling and for us it'll just be another road trip. If Maycenvale want to play in this league they should start getting used to that," he said as the Hastings club faces a six-hour travel across the North Island on Saturday, September 25.

McGrath said he had confirmed that with Capital Football and Vale should receive that in writing soon.

While accepting no other league in the world entertains such a prolonged promotion-relegation process for the top winter league's losers, McGrath counted his blessings for the "second opportunities".

"Look, it's a tough competition," he remonstrated, emphasising that strength was reflected in Miramar Rangers making this year's Chatham Cup (knockout) final while the 2010 Central League champions Wellington Olympics won the cup two years ago.

"It's the best competition in the country at club level so it's the little things that we've talked about that make such big differences."

Upper Hutt coach Ian Porteous told SportToday last weekend the country's soccer was in crisis because of such draconian rules that allowed Taranaki to have a two more bites at the cherry, as it were, when they should be sent packing.

Porteous said another team should gain promotion to savour the benefits of playing at the top level.