Reconstruction solution offered by former striker

Former Dundee United star Steven Thompson wants to see the club back in the Premiership next season and hopes there’s a way city rivals Dundee can join them,

Woodger. writes Calum

United sit 14 points clear at the top of the Championship, with the Dark Blues lying in third spot and in the play-off running.

With Scottish football suspended until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic, clubs face an uncertain future as they wait to hear SFA and SPFL plans regarding how the campaign will be completed.

Extending the season to fulfil the remaining fixtures is an option, as is voiding it altogether or finishing 2019/20 as it stands.

However, former Scotland and Rangers hitman Thompson thinks league reconstruction could be the way forward.

The 41-year-old, now a presenter and pundit for the BBC’S coverage of Scottish football, would like to see United promoted as champions and Dundee in the running for elevation to the top flight.

It’s not the first time such a system has been proposed.

But it could involve no relegations across all divisions, two promotions in the Championship and also in League 1 and League 2, with new teams introduced to the league from the pyramid system to fill the void left in League 2 by a 14-club top tier.

“They’re massive games and it’s great to have them back in the Championship,” the former Cardiff, Burnley and St Mirren forward said of Dundee derbies.

“However, we want both clubs in the top division and maybe now we should be looking at a bigger Premiership.

“From a players’ point of view, it gets very boring, having been down in England where you visit all the different grounds and are only playing teams twice a season, home and away.

“In Scotland, you can end up playing the one team – depending on cup draws and replays – seven or eight times a season.

“It completely devalues it.

“I’ve always wanted a bigger league and I wonder whether the coronavirus is the perfect time to introduce it.

“You’ve got to have your strongest clubs in the top flight and I would 100% put Dundee and United in that.”