Why are we talking about league reconstruction again?

While the Scottish game has been reasonably stable in its set up for more than a decade, the same cannot be said about European football.

Recent developments have led to more games in the Champions League and Europa League, plus the addition of the Conference League.

That has further crowded the fixture calendar and put more strain on squads, while also exacerbating the financial gulf between the top clubs and the rest.

In 2024, the SPFL announced a record sum of over £33m was being paid to the 42 clubs, but 80% went to the top 12 with the 30 teams below sharing the remainder.

When you add in Uefa solidarity payments – paid to Premiership clubs not playing in Europe – and the gap widens even further between the top 12 and the rest.

Lower down the leagues, clubs are struggling. This season, League One clubs Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dumbarton have been put into administration, with others having struggling to make ends meet.

There is also a growing number of teams wishing to join the pyramid set-up, with the current Highland/Lowland league format likely to change.

It could be there is are new East, West and Northern Leagues with the three winners playing a round-robin competition for the right to play the bottom club in League Two for a place in the SPFL.