SPL welcomes boost for champions

Scotland's two major clubs - Celtic and Rangers - should benefit

Direct entry to the Champions League for the Scottish title winners from 2009 has been welcomed by Scottish Premier League chairman Lex Gold.

Uefa agreed on reforms to their major club trophy that will also mean the SPL runner-up facing two qualifying rounds.

And Gold was delighted that Uefa president Michel Platini had backed away from proposals to allow entry to domestic cup winners.

"He is to be contratulated on that and for changing his mind," said Gold.

Interview: SPL chairman Lex Gold

"This is a victory for common sense and I'm really pleased that Michel Platini gave us time to look at other models."

The new format agreed by Uefa's executive committee means that the SPL winners will no longer have to qualify in seasons when Scotland's European-wide co-efficient has dropped.

But Gold admitted that it could make it more difficult for the runners-up to reach the group stages.

The final qualifying round will contain the fourth-placed side from Europe's top five leagues.

"The good news is that both our clubs have reasonable markings in the club co-efficients and should avoid some of the bigger and more successful clubs," said Gold.

"But it's still going to be a tough shifts for them. It's not going to be easy, but it would have been more difficult if our co-efficent had dropped."