BIG BOYS SHOULD SPARK UP WITH PLAY OFF POWER

IT'S not often we get the chance to congratulate our game's bosses but it has to be said, well done to the Scottish Football League.

The play-offs make a welcome return this week and despite the expected whining from the teams who would normally have gone up automatically under the old system their introduction is great for the game, and more importantly, great for the fans.

Sadly with the SPL being a private members' club born out of self interest they'll take no part in the drama of it all and that's a great pity.

The SPL's problem is they have forgotten what football is all about.

Tension, drama and excitement are the ingredients punters look for most in the game and when there's a chance to manufacture that for your league why miss out?

Remember the sell-out crowds at East End Park and Pittodrie some 10 years ago when Dunfermline faced Aberdeen for the right to play in the top flight?

Everyone up and down Scotland does because the pressure and winner-takes-all stakes made for a fabulous occasion.

Equally, when Partick Thistle and Dundee United met in the play-offs it produced a breathtaking finish Jags fans still find hard to accept to this day.

The excitement of the two games can hardly be beaten, even at times outshining the Scottish Cup Final.

To be fair, many in the Scottish Football League who voted to re-introduce the play-offs are now sceptical of the format but I really hope they stick with it.

In the entertainment business, drama and showpiece occasions make for pure box office and while our lower league play-offs will never match the crowds or the revenue we see in England it was essential to do something to freshen up the game.

Sure there might be teething problems but I'm convinced the play-offs will prove to be attractive for the fans concerned and in time they'll grow to love them.

I only wish the SPL would follow the SFL's lead.

The format this season is the second lowest placed club in the First Division will play the fourth place in the Second Division on a home and away basis.

And so Stranraer and Partick Thistle will battle it out to play the winners of the clubs who finished second and third in the Second Division, Morton and Peterhead, who also face each other home and away.

The winners of the two ties play home and away again to see who eventually takes part in First Division football next season.

The same system will be repeated in the division below to determine who stays up or who's promoted.

I'm not convinced a home and away set-up for the final two teams is the best way forward. A one-off clash at Hampden or some other suitable venue might be a better option but for now I'm prepared to see how they go.

In the Second Division, Morton are one of the best-supported clubs who have been struggling to cope in the lower leagues and they're not happy with the new system.

They feel the idea of more meaningful games towards the end of the season, meant to create more interest and generate bigger crowds, just hasn't worked for them.

Jim McInally`s men have clearly been in second place behind Gretna all campaign and under the old rules would have gone up automatically.

Sitting comfortably for the last couple of months behind the runaway leaders they've known they couldn't catch them and the fans were aware they'd always be in a play-off spot.

It's as if Morton have been waiting to take part again in something meaningful. Maybe more supporters would have travelled to games if second place had guaranteed a promotion spot but my advice to Jim and everyone else at the club is to get tuned in quickly.

They have to put to one side grievances at not going up automatically.

In England the records show the second-placed club don't always go up in the end. Far from it.

Morton, like so many in the play-off system down south, have been in a comfort zone for a while in the knowledge a play-off spot had been assured long before the season's end.

Often it's the club who gather momentum who eventually make it.

Peterhead, under Iain Stewart, are the dark horses.

The play-offs have kept their season going for a long time and they're the outsiders.

But they'll be tuned into the fact a two-legged game against Morton could put them in the final.

A second successive promotion would be remarkable and when no- one has expected them to do so well that relaxed attitude might work.

One man who's hoping the play-offs benefit him is Partick Thistle's Dick Campbell. Let's face it, going up so dramatically might save his job.

In any other season when a team has suffered their second successive relegation a fourth-place finish would undoubtedly have resulted in the sack but the Jags have a real chance of getting it together at exactly the right time.

That loss to Dundee United all those years ago still rankles with the Thistle supporters and to get back to the First Division through the same system would put them firmly on the road to recovery.

Eventually I'd love to see Thistle and Morton in the First Division. They're both well supported and given the right style of leadership could challenge for a place in the SPL.

A good, strong First Division is important for the strength of the SPL and the sooner the likes of Morton, Thistle, Dundee and St Johnstone get back challenging for a top-flight place the better.

Taken from the Sunday Mail