BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Peter Houston insists Scottish football needs Rangers and Hibernian back in the top-flight – and is convinced reconstruction will definitely be pushed through next summer if his Falkirk pull off a shock and pip the Championship’s big two to the title this season.
The Bairns are tucked in behind Hibs in third place in the table but proved in drawing 1-1 at Easter Road at the weekend that they are capable of matching the capital outfit.
This weekend, they host league leaders Rangers seeking to put a dent in the Ibrox side’s aspirations.
Falkirk are content to ‘fly under the radar’ this term and allow the favourites to steal the limelight in what many have characterised as a two-horse race for the championship.
However, should the Scottish Cup finalists manage the unthinkable and beat both of their league rivals to the one automatic promotion slot, Houston believes the revamp his own chairman, Doug Henderson, has called for will be firmly on the agenda.
He is convinced the game’s authorities will want to engineer a Premiership that includes the nation’s biggest clubs again.
He said: “Do you think if Rangers and Hibs don’t go up this season there might be league reconstruction? Or if Falkirk went up as champions?
“I know what I think would happen. I think there would be league reconstruction. I think Scottish football is in a scenario now where we need big clubs back in the top league.
“We played in a cup final last year. We are arguably a bigger club than Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who we played – not on the pitch, maybe, but we have over 3,000 season ticket holders.
“I would suggest that’s more than Inverness, Ross County, Hamilton Accies or St Johnstone; maybe even Partick Thistle.
National game
“But they are all in the top league and Rangers and Hibs and ourselves are not.
“We are talking about our national game here. We want it to be as strong as it possibly can be. We want the national team back at major international tournaments.
“I don’t know if creating bigger leagues would do all that, but for one reason or another Hibs are in the Championship, Hearts were in the Championship for another reason and Rangers are in the Championship for a different reason again.
“Being honest, we want our big clubs back in the top division now. The Premiership 12 are there for a reason – because they did the business on the park.
“But I think there will be league reconstruction, because there is an acceptance now that we need our big clubs back in the Premiership.
“And if Falkirk went up as champions I think they would do it – I hope it can happen like that.”
