With Celtic, Motherwell and Aberdeen still reeling from midweek European defeats, Rangers boss Walter Smith gave his backing to a revamp of the SPL calendar. Smith proposes the domestic season kick off in June, two months earlier than the current curtain-raisers in August.

Record Sport understands Ibrox chairman Sir David Murray is privately in favour of exactly this kind of restructuring, where the season would climax in April, and the reintroduction of a winter shutdown.

Smith said: "We need to look at moving the season forward. This kind of thing has been mooted before and we keep talking about it in Scotland but never seem to do anything about it.

"It is something that would help our clubs in terms of preparation for these early European games. I feel a little bit sorry for the two clubs who were involved last night as they both have new managers who are just in the door.

"Motherwell especially have lost an awful lot of players and at Aberdeen Mark McGhee is trying to put his own stamp on the team.

"But these teams are having to deal with that and play their first games of the season in Europe. We suffer because of that - especially when you're up against teams who have already played a good number of games.

"It's something we should be thinking about but in Scotland we talk about these things for an awful long time but never seem to do much about it and it will probably remain like that.

"But I don't think it would do us any harm. It would mean starting the season earlier and also having a winter break, which is another thing that has been talked about.

"The problem is that you can say you are in favour of something like this but in Scotland nothing ever seems to change.

"But if this is helpful to any of the clubs playing in Europe then it's something we should consider seriously.

"Over the next few years even the champions and the second placed teams will have to play earlier in the season and if this could help them - and help our coefficient - then it would be a good thing."