Most clubs oppose early SPL start says Terry Butcher

Inverness manager Terry Butcher has branded the early start to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League campaign as "farcical" and claims most clubs are not ready for this weekend's opening matches.

The Caley Thistle boss says he is still in the process of building his squad for the new campaign and believes other teams are in the same position.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's visit to Motherwell, Butcher said: "Five weeks sounds like a long while but it's not really when you think about what you go through during the season.

"We're off and running again on Saturday and we are three weeks ahead of most other leagues and teams and countries. I'm on record as not agreeing with it.

"We weren't consulted as managers. Maybe the directors and chairmen were consulted but we certainly weren't and everybody is in the same boat that I have spoken to, that we are starting too early.

"You look at the squads that have been assembled by clubs in the SPL and they are nowhere near complete.

"Some may say they are, some have had a fair bit of money to spend and they've virtually got their squad there.

"But other clubs, like ourselves, are still looking at players and will add to our squads after the start of the season on Saturday. We will continue to do that probably up until the end of August.

"I think it's a little bit farcical and it does short-change the public and our fans because our fans want to see our squad complete, see who's making up our squad and go from there.

"But they are very much in the dark because they don't know who's going to come in."

But, despite his unhappiness at the start date, Butcher is determined to enjoy another successful term in the SPL and improve on last season's seventh-place finish.

He added: "We'll have a go this year. We are looking to be better than we were last year, we're looking to improve and build on the success that we've had for the last two years."