The comical adage about if you are being chased by a lion then you only need to be faster than your slowest friend, sort of applies to the Scottish Premiership. With only one automatic relegation spot from the Scottish top flight, the jeopardy isn’t high.
The 10-team league currently guarantees that only one team goes down. Is this enough? It means that clubs for the most instance only have to be better than one other team. When the Premiership playoffs roll around you can compare bookmakers odds and find little variance in the slim chances of the Championship team winning it.
That’s a vast world away from the set-up south of the border. England’s League One for example has four automatic relegation spots. Granted it is a bigger league of 24 teams, but it sort of forces teams to not take anything lightly.
Relegation Playoff
Technically there are two relegation spots open in the Scottish top flight. The bottom team heads down, and the team that finishes second from the bottom goes to the Premiership play-off final against a promotion hopeful from the Championship.
The near-pointlessness of the Premiership relegation play-off is clear to see from the recent numbers. Four of the last six editions of the play-off finals have gone the way of the Premiership team.
Recent Premiership Play-off Results
- 2022/23 - Ross County stayed up
- 2021/22 - St Johnston stayed up
- 2020/21 - Kilmarnock relegated
- 2019/20 - No playoffs
- 2018/19 - St Mirren stayed up
- 2017/18 - Partick Thistle relegated
- 2016/17 - Hamilton Academical stayed up
The setup favours those who are already in the top flight. Even the fact that the playoff final is over two legs favours the top-flight team. In any Cup scenario over two legs between a top flight and second tier, you would expect the top flight team to triumph.
Limited Growth
The argument is that by making it so tough to get up to the Premiership, the growth of the second tier is being hindered. Teams may be focusing more on not dropping from the Championship than being overly concerned about improving to the point of pushing on up.
Naturally, the team that’s just been relegated from the top flight are usually the favourites to go straight back up. If two teams could bank a guaranteed reward of promotion, with the financial benefits that come with it, that would offer more incentive.
Experience of competition in the top flight gives rise to clubs understanding better what it takes to survive up there - whether they do or not. It gives clubs the chance to fill their coffers as well with big fixtures against the likes of Celtic and Rangers.
Size Doesn’t Matter
Is two relegation places from twelve an unfair ratio? What about two automatic relegation spots and then still a Premiership playoff as well between the team third from the bottom and third place finisher in the Championship?
It would certainly put extra pressure on clubs because some of the current protection would be stripped away. But that could be a huge positive for the status of the Scottish Premiership. It would certainly add some excitement that the title chase in the league no longer provides.
Of course, relegation can threaten the existence of clubs. A loss of revenue coming in from playing in front of lower crowds, and the top players looking to find a transfer route back to the top flight are massive hindrances.
Silver Lining
But there can be a silver lining. Look at Burnley after their relegation from the Premier League in 2022. After a long stay in the top flight, scratching around the basement season after season for the most part, they could no longer hold on.
But the silver lining was that the club was able to press the reset button. They completely changed their playing identity and were able to bounce back and win the Championship at a canter.
Most importantly of all, opening up further relegation places would be smashing a monopoly of those at the top. Other teams deserve their chance, even if they go up and fall straight back down.
Denying them the chance to even get there, or heavily stacking the odds against them doing so, is where the real damage to the Scottish game may be happening.