Levein positive about 'ten and 12' structure

Published on Monday 17 January 2011 11:17

Scotland manager Craig Levein has thrown his weight behind plans for a ten-team top flight.

The Scottish Premier League announced "broad agreement" for a new structure of a ten-club Premiership and 12-club Championship following talks with their 12 member clubs yesterday.

But Hearts, Inverness and Kilmarnock all voted for a 14-team top division during the meeting with the Ayrshire side seemingly set to continue their opposition to the official plan.

The proposals have found little favour among fans - almost 90 per cent were opposed to a ten-team league in a Supporters Direct survey. However, Levein claims a smaller division will produce better players for his national team. "I'm hugely positive about the ten and 12," the former Hearts and Dundee United manager said.

"The fact that we can strengthen 22 teams is a positive thing.

"I have one thought in my mind when I'm thinking about reconstruction and that is, what is the best number of teams to give me as international manager the best quality of player coming through.

"And there is absolutely no doubt that when you play best against best, that produces better players. The better quality of teams that play against each other without meaningless games or a big gap between one team or the other, then that produces the best players."

Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan believes the proposals meet the criteria set in former First Minister Henry McLeish's review of the Scottish game.

Regan is set to discuss the concept with his counterpart at the SPL, Neil Doncaster.

Regan said: "What Henry proposed was a concept where the best play the best at club and player level.

"That's the performance strategy to get the very best Scottish players for the future.

"We all recognised there needed to be change. Whether it's ten, 12 or 14, that's for the clubs to decide. When they have decided that, it will come to the SFA for our approval."