Rangers chief wants end to SPL split finale

Rangers have called for the abolition of the end of season fixture split in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) after hitting out at the decision to hand them three straight away matches.

The split, which divides the 12 team league in two and means the top six and bottom six only play teams in their own ‘half’ in the final weeks of the season, was introduced in the 2000/01 season.

It was designed as a way of livening up the climax of the campaign by increasing the number of competitive games.

This weekend will see the first round of the matches since the split, with Rangers – who could win the title if they beat Dundee United on Wednesday and other results go their way on Tuesday – at home to Hearts on Sunday.

But Rangers chief executive Martin Bain believes the Ibrox club have been placed at a “competitive disadvantage” by being given successive trips to Hibernian, Dundee United and Celtic.

Bain has also criticised the decision to give Celtic a third home match against Motherwell, whose pitch repeatedly fell victim to the bad weather earlier in the season.

“We find it very disappointing and surprising that we have been asked to play three consecutive away matches in the space of 10 days at such a crucial stage of the season,” Bain told Rangers’ official website on Tuesday.

“We know we have work to do in our efforts to win the championship but it is maybe just as well we have a good lead given the schedule we are faced with.

“It is certainly our understanding that clubs are never forced to play three away games in a row before the split so we don’t know why we are being asked to do so now.”

Bain’s criticism came after from St Mirren voiced concerns over their third trip to relegation rivals Falkirk.

And Bain said league chiefs needed to look again at a system that he said was too open to “outside influences,” such as police concerns, determining fixture dates.

“There are a number of anomalies that the post split fixtures have thrown up this season and this highlights the unsatisfactory situation that currently exists with a 12-team league and a split after 33 games, and outside influences seem to becoming major factors in determining these,” he explained.

“The SPL have said that the police did not want the final Old Firm game of the season to be decisive and therefore did not want it scheduled for fixture 34 or 35.

“They have also said that they did not want the game on the weekend of May 1 and May 2 as this is a bank holiday weekend, but what difference does it make when the match is invariably played at 12.30pm (1130GMT)?

“The other aspect is that Celtic are not being asked to go and play on the difficult surface at Fir Park when they have only played there once this season. Does that equate to sporting integrity?”

Bain added: “I think the time has come for a more considered debate on a better structure that removes the split completely.”