Walter Smith favours European league option.

Walter Smith admits sacrificing success and
silverware is the price the Old Firm may have to pay in a bid to
attract major investment and avoid being dragged into further decline
by Scottish football.
The Rangers manager has spoken out on why he believes both the
Ibrox club and Celtic must quit the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, and
why forming a European league with other big clubs in small countries
is the most realistic option.
According to Smith, the clubs they leave behind in the SPL
would also benefit, with the Scottish champions given the opportunity
to challenge the less successful of the two Old Firm clubs for their
place in the new league.
With the likes of Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Anderlecht
providing the competition, Rangers and Celtic would be less likely to
be challenging for honours every year and would find themselves having
to adapt to a situation where they may not be winning games every week.
Such a scenario would not be a problem for Smith, who said: "You've got to handle that situation.
"You make your choice. I don't see any problem with that. You would need to ask the supporters how they would feel about that.
"From my own point of view, that's the point of going into
another league. You're not going to gain an increased level of finance
without overcoming what would be looked upon as problems.
"Rangers and Celtic win on a regular basis in Scotland, as do
other bigger clubs in small countries. It's something we would all have
to adjust to.
"Managers' jobs is to win games regardless of where they are
anyway. The thing that matters is that we start to raise the profile of
our country's football."
Clarifying comments in Friday's newspapers about his fears for
Scottish football if the Old Firm are not allowed to quit the SPL,
Smith added: "Football will always be played in Scotland, we will go
on, we will play.
"It's not the football that I feel would die, it's the profile of the country.
"We are losing players, not to the Premiership, but to the
Championship in England and that's an indication that there is a
decline in the standard that we have. What we have to do is find a way
out of it.
"It's no use saying we have a very healthy and competitive league if we are losing players to the Championship every season.
"Sixty-odd Scottish players are playing in the Championship when they should be playing for clubs in Scotland.
"Everybody sits down and congratulates themselves and says, 'It's not that bad'. But it is.
"Somebody has to come up with an idea somewhere to try to make
the league more attractive and to get people to invest in the league
and to make sure that we keep as high a level of player as we possibly
can.
"That's what the supporters want to come and see - players. We
were losing out to the Premiership a few years ago and now it's the
Championship because people in England are prepared to invest to get to
a higher league.
"If we have a European league, and access to that European
league, then people would be willing to invest in Scottish teams so
they could get to that European league.
"Scotland will continue playing football, we have great clubs
in Scotland. But, at what level and what profile will our country
have?"
The issue of the Old Firm quitting Scottish football is nothing
new but has been the subject of furious debate over the last week and
Smith believes now is the time for action, not words.
"I do feel that it is time for something to be done to try to help our football," he said.
"The one thing that we need is a level of investment and
somebody, somewhere, has got to come up with an idea to find a
situation where people are prepared to invest in Scottish football.
"So far, everybody just keeps talking about it and nobody seems to do a great deal about it.
"It's obviously happening in a lot of countries and not just Scotland, Scotland is not isolated in this sense."
While Rangers are open to a European league, Celtic would prefer
a move to the Barclays Premier League, but Smith believes such a plan
is a non-starter.
"I don't see Rangers and Celtic being welcomed in England," he said.
"They have big clubs down there. I think they would more or less be prepared to block that aspect of it.
"Personally, I think a European league is a more viable option for us."