Hearts and Hibs learn verdict on Scottish Premiership reconstruction in 'no reasonable prospect' clamp
Hearts and Hibs have been told the verdict on Premiership reconstruction.
Scottish Premiership reconstruction talks have failed as discussions continue over whether it is viable in the lower leagues.
Hearts and Hibs are two of the top flight clubs in Scotland which currently holds 12 sides. Since moving away from a 10-team division in the 2000-01 season, the Premiership has utilised a split procedure after 33 games, where the top half all play each other and vice versa in the bottom six.
The Championship, League One and League Two have 10 clubs each, playing each four times per season and one team is automatically promoted in first place. Places two, three and four fight for promotion via play offs against the side in second bottom in the tier above or in League Two’s case, their bottom side plays either the Lowland League or Highland League champion.
Why Scottish Premiership reconstruction won’t happen
In a statement, the SPFL said they held little hope of getting to common ground amongst all top flight clubs but the lower leagues could change. It reads: “The SPFL’s Competitions Working Group met on 29 April to discuss the possibility of league restructuring. It was agreed that there was no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format for the William Hill Premiership.
"There was, however, broad agreement around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. These will be worked up with a view to conducting a consultation with clubs and other stakeholders."
The reason for Scottish Premiership reconstruction debate
Changes to the structure have come in a bid to manage fixture congestion issues and aid those clubs who are playing in UEFA club competitions. Extra matches have been added with the introduction of a league phase, with Hearts playing in this year’s Conference League version with Hibs hoping to be in that arena or the Europa League next campaign.
A 14-team option may have maintained Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee derbies at current frequency but those in the bottom half would be playing more matches than those in the top six following a split, creating a problem. Chief operating officer Calum Beattie recently said on the split: “In order to manage a division of 12 clubs, without having to accommodate 44 matches – which is too many given the increasingly-congested calendar – the split is required. It also provides significant additional interest as clubs bid to secure a top-six finish.
“For example, three years ago we had no fewer than seven clubs chasing three top-six places on fixture round 33. Two seasons ago, three clubs were battling for two places and last year Dundee edged out Motherwell and Hibernian after another dramatic Saturday afternoon. This year St Mirren secured a third successive top-half finish with a 3-2 home win over Ross County to edge out both Motherwell and Heart of Midlothian, who drew 0-0 at Fir Park.
“The final five fixture rounds then involve teams playing each other to chase a common objective, be that the league title, European qualification – Scotland again has five places in UEFA competitions for 2025/26 – or to retain top-flight status. There has been a lot of debate about league format recently, and no structure is perfect, but over the past 25 years the split has become a firmly established and exciting element of the William Hill Premiership and the weekend was another good example of that. As has been reported, the SPFL Competitions Working Group will be meeting later this month to consider the pros and cons of the current system and any deliverable alternatives.”