The 34-year-old full-back, among about 90 Premiership players whose deals expire this month, insists utilising the furlough scheme allows clubs to absorb the cost of contract extensions.

Scottish football, suspended since 13 March, has no clear return date.

"The furlough scheme allows time to see how this thing pans out," said Foster.

"I appreciate clubs don't know what's happening. But if you extend the contracts and then furlough us, it gives everyone time for the dust to settle.

"Clubs are discarding players at the moment, leaving them out of contract and with no possible way of getting an income. Then in a couple of months, they will need to sign other players to fill their squads.

"It just seems to me a silly decision to let players - who are a known entity - go and then have to re-sign players that you might not know what you're going to get from them."

The UK government's job retention scheme, which pays 80% of wages up to £2,500 a month, has been extended to October.

The majority of Premiership clubs have opted to furlough players. And while Ross County have been making up the shortfall to keep their squad on full salary, Foster says he would not expect that if his deal was extended.

"The club wouldn't have any obligation to pay me the rest of my contract," he added.

"It's just so that I do have an income coming in during the uncertain months before I could potentially sign for Ross County again or a different club."

Foster's local MP Amy Callaghan, the SNP representative for East Dunbartonshire, this week raised the issue of constituents not being furloughed beyond their fixed-term contracts.

Former Aberdeen, Rangers and St Johnstone defender Foster believes the players have been "largely forgotten" amid the contentious SPFL resolution to curtail the season.

"We had weeks and weeks of how are clubs going to survive and investigations and votes and dossiers," he said.

"It has only become a point now because we are nearing the end of May and contracts run out next week.

"One of my team-mates and his partner have recently had a baby and he's going into the last week of his contract without knowing where he goes from here."