Ten votes enough to change SPL

Published on Friday 7 January 2011 14:03

NEIL DONCASTER today confirmed that ten votes will be enough to see the introduction of a ten-team SPL.

The SPL chief executive also insisted the 12-club meeting on January 17 will be vital for the future of Scottish football.

Doncaster believes two SPL leagues of ten teams each is the way ahead from both a football and financial viewpoint.

It had originally been thought that those in favour, including Celtic and Rangers, would need an 11-1 majority to be able to push it through.

But Doncaster said: "Technically, if you take the whole thing as one big plan with all the elements in it, then you need 11 votes.

"However, anything to do with a reduction in the size of the league is ten votes."

Weekend reports claimed that SPL bosses were set to "bin" their planned vote on the proposed reconstruction.

It stated that was because a 14-day period for a formal resolution to be handed to clubs ahead of the meeting had passed.

Doncaster insisted: "That was a totally erroneous report. Nothing has changed whatsoever in relation to the Monday the 17th meeting.

"The so-called two-week resolution period is a total red herring.

"I sense there are people perhaps being mischievous. The idea of the meeting was to hear clubs' thoughts on the plan.

"Then you draft regulations according to what they want.

"Drafting a rule book is not a two-minute task. It takes months and a lot of work for lawyers.

"You are not going to do that unless you know it's going to be rubber-stamped.

"Any resolution was always going to be drawn up after the meeting on the 17th - not before it."

One of the leading dissenters against a ten-team SPL, Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson, is believed to have met with Doncaster and SPL chairman Ralph Topping at Gleneagles over the weekend.

Doncaster added: "I don't know if the proposed changes will come in. The only people who will decide on it are the clubs."