Source: Team_Talk
SPL 'not planning for' Old Firm exit
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has reopened the debate by reiterating his desire to see his club swap the SPL for the English Premier League.
The prospect of the Glasgow giants playing teams from England is one which has been raised on a number of occasions, with both clubs aware of the financial benefits of such a move.
Premier League chiefs are set to meet next month where the possibility of a two-tier system, which could include Celtic and Rangers, may be discussed.
But, when quizzed on the prospect of losing his two largest member clubs, chief executive Doncaster insisted: "I'm not planning for that at all.
"A huge part of the attraction in coming to Scotland and being part of the SPL was working with so many huge names in the world of football and clearly Celtic and Rangers are two of those.
"I'm looking forward to working with them and the other 10 clubs going forward."
He clearly did not welcome the subject being resurrected, adding: "Any sort of speculation around that area isn't particularly helpful.
"It's not helpful south of the border with a potential English Premier League 2 and it's not helpful north of the border either.
"The fact is that the 12 SPL clubs are where they are and the structure of the English league is where it is and I don't see any huge desire for change in most clubs within the UK.
"He (Lawwell) indicated that he would wait for an invitation to join and, as far as I'm aware, no invitation has been forthcoming.
"It is a story that has been doing the rounds both sides of the border. There has been a lot of discussion south of the border for many years about a potential English Premier League 2 and restructuring the English system.
"But there are no signs yet that it's any closer to being a reality. It's all very well speculating about what might be the case but I prefer to deal with the reality.
"We've got 12 magnificent clubs within the SPL and we are delighted to have all 12 there, including the Old Firm, and what we need to do is to try our utmost using those enormous brands to drive more money and investment into Scottish football and that's what we will be doing."
The SPL agreed a £65million deal with Sky and ESPN in July - far less than the £125million Setanta had agreed to pay over four seasons before the collapse of their UK operation.
And Doncaster admits the Scottish top flight is in need of a larger cash injection.
He told BBC Scotland: "I think it's important to focus on where we are, rather than speculating about what might be the case, and that we drive as much income as we can into all 12 SPL clubs.
"That's our remit and I think spending a lot of time talking about what might be the case going forward isn't necessarily productive. I'd far rather deal with the reality of where we are and bringing investment into our game.
"We have an enormous amount of good within the SPL, we've got two world-quality broadcasters who are showcasing our product.
"We need to make sure that we get more money, both from broadcasting and other areas, going forward and that's what we're working on. That's the focus for me."
Earlier, Lawwell had told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Celtic and Rangers are massive clubs. Celtic certainly has a global reach.
"Our frustration is that we play in a very small market and we don't have a regular platform to tell the Celtic story from.
"We're looking for an opportunity to participate in an environment that gives us that global exposure. And hopefully, through time, that will come.
"If we had the TV rights value that you get in England, then there is no barrier for Celtic."
