Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo calls for winter shutdown

The Tynecastle boss called for the SPL to be enlarged to include 14 - 16 teams so that the move could become a reality.

Laszlo made the call today after three of his players - David Kucharski, Arvydas Novikovas and Jose Goncalves - all suffered training injuries.

The three are doubtful for Hearts' Scottish Cup clash against Aberdeen on Saturday.

He said: "You must re-organise everything; you must make reform. But for reform you need reformers.

"If you are a reformer, you make a lot of enemies but you have development."

The arctic conditions have decimated the Scottish fixture programme of late, leading to an enforced winter break for many lower league clubs.

"Everybody suffers at the moment," Laszlo said.

"You can't train. A lot of teams don't have an astrodome.

"The First Division teams are on a holiday but in the papers the league is on."

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster ruled out any changed to the Scottish football set-up last week.

Doncaster insisted a winter break "could not be accommodated" with a 38-game top-flight programme, two domestic cups and a new UEFA rule preventing leagues from scheduling domestic games in the midweeks they reserve for Champions League or Europa League.

Fitting in a winter break would either require a reduction in the number of league games, he said, which in turn would mean a smaller top flight – which clubs would not vote for – or a 16-team upper tier that he claimed would dilute the quality of football at the top end – and which many teams would also vote against since it would deny them games against the Old Firm.