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SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster makes case for reconstruction

Image: Neil Doncaster: Confident changes will benefit fans

Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster has argued that controversial reconstruction proposals will give fans what they want - and that no other plan has any chance of succeeding.

The system of splitting two leagues of 12 into three divisions of eight was previously employed by both Austria and Switzerland before being dropped. But Doncaster claimed a failure to redistribute wealth and problems with stadia below the top 12 had undermined a generally exciting structure. And former Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith claimed the system was attractive. The former Rangers player said: "I played under this system in Austria and Switzerland and I think it's quite exciting. "If you have a 12-team league this is a better way of splitting it. "In the first half of the season teams want to avoid being in the bottom four and teams fight like mad to do so. "In Austria I was fortunate to play in the top eight and get a European place. "In Switzerland I was in the middle eight and every game was like a cup final. "You were desperate to win every match and it became very, very exciting. I don't understand why people can't grasp that."
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