Rangers boss Walter Smith admits he does not expect an extension to the season after having a similar request turned down three years ago. The Scottish Premier League has been decimated by the arctic conditions in Britain in recent weeks, with 16 games postponed and a backlog of fixtures to be played.
Smith harked back to 2008, when his plea to the SPL was turned down as they played through a gruelling schedule to reach the Uefa Cup final.
This build-up of matches meant they had to play nine games in 24 days, and resulted in them missing out on the domestic title and losing to Zenit St Petersburg in the final at the City of Manchester Stadium.
"They can't extend the season because they wouldn't do it for Rangers a couple of seasons ago so they're not going to do it now, are they?
"Surely, if the season is not going to be extended for one team, then they can't extend it for any of the rest of them.
"If they wouldn't do it for one team two seasons ago, why would they do it now?
"I don't think we've reached the stage where it has to be extended anyway.
"Surely there are enough midweeks that we can fit the games in, I don't think there is any need to extend the season so far.
"Our problem is if we stay in the cup competitions and the Europa League, that obviously gives you more matches to play."
Smith believes that the only beneficiaries from that year were Celtic, who went on to win the league, as well as citing that an extension would lead to questions about the integrity of the competition.
"There was only one team going to get the benefit of the season not being extended at that stage and that was Celtic. That's fairly obvious.
"So they refused to do it then and they can't do it now. Is that not fairly straightforward?"
"Of course the benefit would be for us and that would be a benefit we would have accepted.
"But we would have accepted it two years ago and tried to get it and they said no, there was no way they would extend the season for any team.
"Therefore, they will not extend the season this season either. If they wouldn't do it for Rangers, then why would they do it for all the rest of the teams?
"The phrase 'sporting integrity' was used at the time so how could they extend it now? That would be a bit of a mystery to me.
"If one team can play four games in one week, why can't all the teams not play four games in one week?"
