SPL chief defends Scottish game

19 October 2009 17:58
Celtic and Rangers have both reiterated their desire to quit the SPL in recent weeks, with both clubs favouring a move to the Premier League and Rangers also open to the prospect of forming a North Atlantic league. Ibrox boss Walter Smith even went as far as warning that the profile of the game in Scotland is in danger of dying if the Old Firm remain. Not so, says Doncaster, who believes the SPL's latest initiative - SPL Family Champions - could be the first step to improving football both on and off the park. He explained: "We are sending undercover families to all of our 12 SPL grounds and marking them on how they deliver the family experience. "With the results and all the information coming back, we will then be announcing our SPL Family Champions of the year and we will then be having a best practice guide and getting all the clubs together at the end of the season to decide how we take this forward. "You've got to remember that money through the gate is still the number one source of revenue for our clubs. "So anything we can do to drive more families in and bring more money into our clubs should be welcomed and I hope it will drive up standards across the board. "What we are trying to do is bring more people through the turnstiles, that will lead to more money into clubs and that will mean that there is more money to be spent on developing Scottish talent, bringing players into our clubs and making our clubs more competitive on the field of play. "For me, it's about investment now, families coming through the turnstiles and money coming into the game." Asked whether he believes the SPL has a product that people want to watch at the moment, Doncaster replied: "I think we do. "We've got a lot of good things about the SPL, we've got a lot of exciting players coming through. "What we need to make sure is that we get our pricing right and when the families come in for their first experience of SPL football, that they want to come back again. That's all about the quality of the family experience and that's what we will be measuring." However, he admits this latest initiative on its own is unlikely to be the magic solution Scottish football needs to attract major investment and increase television revenue. He said: "If we think this is going to be some sort of silver bullet, then we are going to be disappointed. "This is simply one of a number of things we want to be doing to drive up standards across the piece. "It should lead to more families coming through the turnstiles, it should lead to more money coming into the game and that should lead to better standards on the pitch. "To look at it as a save-all for Scottish football - no. But as a part of measures where we are going to try to improve the whole of Scottish football through the SPL, I think it can do that."

Source: Team_Talk