A 14-team top league is still not enough, says Pressley

STEVEN Pressley insists Scottish football is being held back from the change it needs by the demands for four Old Firm games a season.

The Falkirk manager, who turned out for both Rangers and Celtic during his playing career, has welcomed Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell’s announcement that his club could support a 14-team SPL.

However, Pressley says such a move would not go far enough and remains steadfast in his belief that a 16 or 18-club top-flight needs to be introduced to safeguard the future of the game and bring fans back.

Pressley said: “It is moving in the right direction but it’s still not where we need to get to. The 14-team league still involves playing opposition teams four times. “Ultimately, the 14-team league, with the eight and six split, still revolves around the four Old Firm games a season. We have to get away from that. Our game in Scotland cannot be driven by four Old Firm games. We must look at the bigger picture.

“We need a bigger league to allow clubs to develop go through transitional periods, where the pressure on the manager isn’t such that he can’t breed young players.

“And, secondly, it’s about the supporters and the demands they make. They pay the money, they want to see a product and I think they want to see a product that doesn’t involve playing the opposition four times.

“We’ve become dependent on TV money and we need to become less dependent on it and more dependent on getting our supporters through the gates.

“That’s the cycle they need to break, and until they address that cycle the supporters will continue to dwindle.

“The TV money isn’t that excessive. If you were to attract more people through your gates the gulf in money isn’t that great.”