Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson is philosophical about the news his club will not get any home matches against the Old Firm after the SPL split.
United will have to travel to Ibrox three times this season and have only one match against the defending champions at home, when Walter Smith’s side travel to Tannadice next midweek.
This is in contrast to last season, where Rangers played three times in the City of Discovery. While Thompson knows his club will take a financial hit, he admitted the situation was unavoidable.
He said, “Obviously, it’s not ideal but that’s the nature of the split. We played Rangers three times at Tannadice last season so I suppose this year evens that out.”
There will be no potential fifth defeat in one season at Motherwell, though, as the clubs’ last match will take place in Dundee.
United’s fixtures are: Saturday, April 23 v Kilmarnock (H), 12.15pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports; Sunday, May 1 v Celtic (A), 12.45pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports; Saturday, May 7 v Motherwell (H), 3pm kick-off; Tuesday, May 10 v Rangers (A), 7.45pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports; Sunday, May 15 v Hearts (H), 12.30pm kick-off.
Meanwhile, St Johnstone will have two home games and three away after the split.
Their first match will be a 2pm kick-off against Inverness Caley Thistle at McDiarmid Park on Monday, April 25, which will be shown live on ESPN.
The Perth club’s other bottom-six matches are (3pm kick-offs unless stated): Sat-urday, April 30 v Hibs (A); Saturday, May 7 v Aberdeen (A); Tuesday May 10 v Hamilton (H), 7.45pm kick-off; Saturday May, 14 v St Mirren (A).
The main controversy appears to be in the bottom six, where Hamilton face a third trip to St Mirren Park on May 2.
Hamilton are 12 points adrift of the Buddies and are unhappy with the additional trip to their closest rivals.
Hamilton secretary Scott Struthers said, “The club are most disappointed to be asked to visit St Mirren, our rivals for relegation this season, three times away from home-and, given the current points scenario, that is potentially a deciding and crucial game for the two clubs.
“We are aware of the vagaries of the split and while we have ended up with 19 home and 19 away, we were actually due four home games post-split.
“It is bizarre that we are being sent to our only rivals for a third visit. This is not an ideal situation and we shall seek clarification from the SPL on this.”
SPL secretary Iain Blair explained the reasoning behind the selection on the organisation’s website.
“We try to minimise the disruption so look to switch the fewest number of matches to achieve a 19 home/19 away balance,” he said. “We also try to ensure there is no reversal of any of the derby matches. And we also look at what has happened in recent years.
“This season, for example, Dundee United are losing a home game against Rangers but last season Dundee United gained an Old Firm game at the expense of Motherwell.”