Danny wants bigger SPL

Aug 25 2012 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

SAINT gaffer Danny Lennon has urged Scottish football’s powerbrokers to seize the chance created by the Rangers financial implosion and re-draw the league set-up for the good of the game.

SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan changed his tune earlier this week when he claimed the game was in rude health following the announcement of a potential £80million UEFA windfall that could follow a new TV deal for international games.

He had earlier claimed that sending Rangers to the Third Division would cripple the game.

But the doomsday scenario has so far failed to materialise and Regan is now suggesting league restructuring could present a massive boost to the game, raising the possibility of the SPL and SFL merging to create a new set-up that includes a 16-team top-flight.

Lennon agrees and has urged club bosses to get round the table and set a new course that will encourage fed-up supporters to pile back through the turnstiles.

The Paisley gaffer said: “We have just put the Rangers situation to bed and I’m delighted that we’ve not been affected as much as we had feared.

“We haven’t had to cut back on too many aspects of the way we run the club and I think it’s important that we can now get back to a level where we get the public falling back in love with the game.

“With the people we now have at the top of the table, I think this could be the year that we think about changing the league structures.

“We need a fresh start and I would welcome a 14 or 16-team league.

“It’s about making a collective decision on what is best for the game.”