Neil Doncaster on Celtic's dominance, Rangers colts and cross-border leagues

In this exclusive interview, Doncaster delves into the past 12 months including Celtic's dominance, Rangers withdrawing from the development league and the prospect of joining forces with our nations in the future.

What are your thoughts on the season in not just the Premiership but throughout the leagues?

My own feeling is that it has been a very positive season across all Ladbrokes leagues, with a great many highlights, talking points and unprecedented successes. When the SPFL was formed in 2013 one of the founding principles was for a fairer distribution of income across the leagues and all 42 clubs working more closely together for the greater good.

It is to the credit of all clubs that they were willing to do so and the evidence is of generally increased competitiveness across all four leagues each season, perhaps most notably in the Ladbrokes Championship thanks to the Premiership play-offs.

That attendances are on the increase year on year and clubs are benefitting from larger TV and commercial payments than ever before can only help the future success of our leagues and clubs. So, yes, it has been a very positive season and we’re already looking forward to next.

What has been your highlight?

There are so many you can pick from and it’s very natural to gravitate towards the top league.

For Celtic to have won a domestic treble, a rarer achievement than many would believe, especially coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the club’s greatest ever success can only be deemed very special.

However, this has been a memorable season for many clubs. Celtic, Hibernian, Livingston and Arbroath won the four Ladbrokes league titles, with Celtic adding the Betfred Cup and Scottish Cup for the treble.

Brechin City and Forfar Athletic enjoyed promotion via the play-offs while Hamilton Academical and Cowdenbeath survived. Aberdeen enjoyed a record points total and two cup finals.

Dundee United won the IRN-BRU Cup. Rangers sealed a return to European football and St Johnstone have done so yet again. Partick Thistle made the top six of the Ladbrokes Premiership for the first time and Ross County won the Development League.

Personally, taking the Ladbrokes League 2 trophy by helicopter to sunny Forthbank to be presented to Arbroath after their final day title success in front of 1,000 travelling fans left a real impression and reminder of how much Scottish football means to so many people across the country. It was a great day for Dick Campbell.

Equally, seeing Dundee United fan and amputee footballer Tommy McKay scoring his half-time goal at Tannadice and then being awarded the SPFL’s Ladbrokes Goal of the Month again showed the positive power of football.

Has Rangers being back in the top flight improved the product?

If by product you mean how the Scottish game is viewed by those on the outside looking in then having Hearts, Rangers and, from next season, Hibernian back in the Ladbrokes Premiership after their respective absences from Scottish top flight football has been very well received by other clubs, by TV audiences and by our commercial partners and sponsors. So, yes!

Does it damage the product by Celtic being so far in front?

Clearly every league in the world would love a title race going down to the final day – the reality is that doesn’t happen that often.

That Celtic enjoyed such remarkable and unprecedented consistency in this season’s Ladbrokes Premiership has received deserved recognition and even an acknowledgement from their own first team manager that it may never happen again.

While it is not for me to comment on the individual performances of clubs, it is also widely recognised that the current Celtic management team and players have set higher standards than we have seen in Scotland for some time.

Aberdeen have provided the strongest challenge in recent years including this and as they and other clubs strive to meet the high standards set by this season’s Ladbrokes Premiership champions we would hope that in the long run that would benefit the standards of those clubs, the league and the wider game.

Do you think it is a good thing for our if this domination continues?

If a longstanding involvement in football has taught me one thing it is never to make predictions! Let’s wait and see what next season brings and hope that Scottish football enjoys another memorable season including more success for our clubs participating in European competition.

What are your thoughts on the Rangers colts dropping out of the SPFL Development league next season?

I think it is very much something to file under “one to watch”. It is certainly an interesting initiative. And one which was supported by other clubs. We look forward to hearing back from the club about the positives – and any negatives – of the experience this time next year. We can then factor any learnings into our plans for the Development League from season 2018/19.

Will this potentially open the door for cross-border competition?

It is broadly agreed across the European game that cross-border competitions are likely to form a key part of the footballing landscape over the coming years. Therefore, any initiative that strengthens the links between clubs, leagues and associations in different countries, particularly across the UK, should be welcomed.

Any changes to the structures of leagues, particularly those as dramatic as a cross-border league competition, take years to put together. And the necessary building blocks of any such competition are strong relationships, trust and mutual respect between those who would compete together in this brave new world.

Whilst not a direct stepping stone to a cross-border British league, initiatives like this do clearly help to enhance and strengthen relationships between key players in the British football industry.

You have spoken before about Scotland being part of the landscape in this respect. Now this season is at an end, where is this vision now?

The desire to strengthen relationships between the footballing bodies across the British Isles is one of the main reasons why the recent changes to the IRN-BRU Cup are so important to the strategic development of the SPFL.

These changes, which have seen teams from Northern Ireland and Wales enter the competition alongside colt teams from the Ladbrokes Premiership, have been driven by the SPFL partly for this purpose.

Through our membership of the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (“EPFL”) and our clubs’ involvement with the European Clubs Association (“ECA”), we are already very much part of the European footballing landscape and are well-positioned for when cross-border European league competitions become a reality.

Is it something you have had conversations with other associations about? If so what can you tell us?

Iain Blair (SPFL Company Secretary) and I regularly meet with our counterparts across the European leagues. While it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to approach directly the associations in other countries, the recent discussions around a potential transnational European cup competition, led by the Scottish FA, demonstrate that leagues and associations can and do work together for the benefit of the game across Europe.

Is this something you want/feel Scottish football would be better for if they did embrace it?

Albert Einstein once said that “the measure of intelligence is the ability to change”. Over the past four years, SPFL clubs have demonstrated time and again their intelligence and awareness of the need for progressive change.

That intelligence and flexibility has seen a merger of the leagues in 2013 to create the Premiership play-offs and a pyramid for the professional game, a total overhaul of the Betfred Cup (including the ‘summer football’ group stage in July, bonus point penalty shootouts, and the return to a pre-Christmas final) and significant changes to the IRN-BRU Cup, summarised above.

It is vital that the famous, historic football clubs that make up Scottish football continue to embrace positive change. I am confident that they will do so.