Ahead of last month’s SPFL board meeting the thorny subject of league reconstruction was again raised, this time by Falkirk chairman Doug Henderson who was keen to lobby support for a sixteen team top division.

Thankfully he received little backing and the plan was put on the back burner, where I hope it remains for the foreseeable future.

I accept that the current set-up has its flaws, but it has worked better than previous models and has given us a competitive and exciting league in each of its three seasons.

Celtic have still emerged as champions, but no amount of reshuffling could alter that given their vast advantages in terms of playing resources and finance, and below them we have had drama and unpredictably in spades.

The split still causes controversy at times, but it has now been part of our game for almost two decades, and would appear to be here to stay. In some seasons it has been a near irrelevance, but has grown in importance with the introduction of the play-offs, and served up a series of head-to-heads in each of the last couple of years that were both nerve-wracking and dramatic, matches which had the nation gripped and gave managers, players and fans sleepless nights.

This season looks to have the potential for an even more thrilling conclusion, with an increasing number of clubs still likely to be in peril as the weeks pass by. At this stage we could all draw up a list of teams we think will be fine, but all it would take is a couple of defeats and the situation would be turned on its head.

I know many people want that sixteen team top division and I understand their arguments; I just don’t agree with them.

For a start, I have yet to be convinced we have enough quality in depth to fill such a set-up and still have sufficient teams left over to provide the necessary competition in the top half of the second tier. With Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers out of the top flight, the Championship has enjoyed unprecedented interest in terms of coverage and attendances, and there has been the guarantee that the side or sides coming up would be able to compete and would add something to the Premiership. If we had a sixteen team top division we simply wouldn’t have the strength in depth to offer that.

Another argument is tedium, the dislike of the four meetings a season which has now been in place for forty years. Again, I disagree. As a fan I would much rather see Celtic, Hearts, Hibs and the like at Pittodrie, and enjoy the improved atmosphere, than replace one of those fixtures with visits from say Raith Rovers, Morton or Queen of the South.

Unless there was a much extended play-off system put in place, a sixteen team Premiership would have such a ‘soft’ middle that there would be meaningless games for months on end, and despite what fans say, large swathes of them simply wouldn’t turn up to such fixtures.

It seems to me that many people simply want change for change sake, but sometimes you have to accept that actually the status quo perhaps isn’t as bad as its detractors would have us believe.

The format we have works. Just let it be and enjoy the thrills and spills it serves up.