St Johnstone owner Adam Webb says cutting the number of clubs in the Scottish Premiership from 12 to 10 would be “a huge mistake”.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the SPFL’s Competitions Working Group (CWG) are drawing up plans over a smaller top-flight league, and scrapping the top-six split.
Webb – whose club is currently bottom of the Premiership – believes a larger 14-team model should be implemented, growing to 16 sides in the future.
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Sky Sports News understands all options are under consideration by the CWG as they look to manage fixture congestion issues faced by clubs playing in European competitions.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Webb said: “That would be a huge mistake [cutting the top flight to 10 teams]. I think the bar for good or bad when it comes to football, UK football and world football, is the English Premier League.
“They’ve got 20 clubs and while we’re not the same size as England, obviously, and we’re not going to have 20 clubs in our Premiership – what you want to do is edge closer to that.
Simo Valakari’s St Johnstone are five points adrift at the bottom of the table ahead of facing leaders Celtic on Sunday – live on Sky Sports
“It is a more familiar system that is more geared towards success on the world stage and on the UK stage. We should absolutely be heading in the other direction.
“From looking at the quality in the Championship this season, I can tell you we have two, three, four clubs for sure that would do just fine in the Premiership, and that’s where we should be headed. We should be growing the Premiership.
Falkirk lead the Championship with Livingston – who were relegated last season – in contention for promotion too
“We should be going to a 14-team league very soon, and then five years later – as long as the quality in the Championship is sufficient – projecting to go to a 16-team league, and if you keep growing it on a gradual, very deliberate way, we can make sure that the quality is there.
“We absolutely need to have quality with every team in the Premiership, but that’s the direction we should be going because it’s better for Scotland, it’s better for Scottish football.”
Why is league reconstruction on the agenda?
The discussed changes are due to fixture congestion and the extra league-phase games that clubs competing in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League face.
On Tuesday, the SPFL had already announced that all Scottish Premiership clubs playing in European play-off round fixtures next season will be able to request the postponement of one specific league match.
Adopting a smaller 10-team top-flight would see the number of fixtures drop from 38 to 36, plus create a 10-team second tier and larger third division.
While a 14-team option may maintain the prospect of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee derbies remaining at their current frequency, it could cause issues for those in the bottom half playing more matches than those in the top six following a split.
Discussions are yet to take place on timings and while changes could be introduced for next season, the 2026/27 campaign is thought to be more realistic.
While no clubs have yet been consulted over any changes, any motion would need the backing of 11 of the 12 Premiership clubs, 75 per cent of the Premiership and Championship teams, plus 75 per cent of all 42 SPFL sides.
