Barry Fry was left flabbergasted when the EFL developed Championship and League One fixture lists for Derby County ahead of the new campaign.
The Rams have been fined £100,000 by an independent disciplinary commission for accounting irregularities.
As a result, the EFL announced an “interchangeable fixture list” had been pieced together in case any appeal led to Derby being handed a retrospective points deduction and relegated to League One.
Wayne Rooney’s Derby only avoided the drop, at Wycombe Wanderers’ expense, by a point after a nail-biting final day draw against Sheffield Wednesday.
However, the Rams have been fearing they could still face relegation if a points deduction is imposed ahead of the new season kicking off next month.
It was revealed last month that the EFL could be considering an appeal against the sanction imposed by the independent disciplinary commission.
But Fry, Peterborough United’s director of football, believes Derby will be playing Championship football next season regardless of the state of affairs.
Speaking exclusively to TIF, he said: “I can’t believe that. If Derby get some points deducted, which is a big possibility, and they get relegated then chairman Mel Morris would appeal against the decision. That appeal would take six months so what league are they going to play in until it’s resolved?
“They’ve got to play in the Championship. I can never in a million years see them not. They would appeal no matter what the EFL give Derby County and an appeal doesn’t take five minutes. It takes up to 10 months.
“Derby will have to continue in the Championship until it’s resolved but I can’t believe they came up with two fixture lists.”