IT is fair to say it has not been a good week for the SPFL.The situation over the fixtures on the final weekend of the Championship has left clubs and fans angry, bemused and questioning those that are in charge of our game.

After initially switching Rangers' game with Hearts to Sunday, May 3, for live TV coverage, the SPFL confirmed yesterday that all five games will now kick-off on Saturday, May 2, at 12.15pm.

It is the common sense solution but only comes after statements from Hibernian and Hearts that highlighted the extraordinary situation and an outcry from all sections of the game.

The people running Scottish football have a lot to answer for here. All we have heard for weeks regarding Dave King is whether he is fit and proper to be involved at Rangers.

Well, maybe it is time we ask if the two men that are running the game - Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster - are fit and proper? Look at the amount of mistakes they have made.

This whole thing has been an absolute farce. It doesn't look to me as if they know what they are doing and Doncaster especially must surely be under huge pressure after this latest embarrassment from the SPFL.

The right thing has been done and the fairest solution has been found, eventually.

Rangers have been caught in the middle here.

Stuart McCall said on Wednesday night that he could understand Hibs' complaints and he would do the same thing if it was his side that were in that position.

You can't have a situation where, if Hibs were to drop points on a Saturday, Rangers go into the final game on the Sunday knowing what they need to finish second.

It is best for everyone that all games kick off at the same time on the same day. The clubs were rightly unhappy and now, at last, we have a situation that is fair for everyone.

You would have thought that the sensible solution would have been the first one for the SPFL. There is no doubt that this doesn't paint them in a good light.

From Sky's point of view, they wanted the game that mattered and that is Hearts v Rangers.

With the money they pay, they will feel they have a right to change the games as they feel is right for them but the SPFL had to be stronger.

The competition has to be fair for all the clubs and the league should have put their foot down and used their brains at the start and said 'all the games will be played on the same day, at the same time'. That is what should have happened all along.

It is set up to be a really exciting end to the season and all the SPFL have done here is annoy the clubs and upset the fans.

When the games do come around, it could well be a day that shows Scottish football in a positive way, with potentially three teams going for second place.

When there are goals going in at different grounds and the table is changing all the time, that is exciting and it will get people interested.

It made no sense to try and take that drama away and potentially have the race to finish second all but done before Rangers even got to Tynecastle.

After seeing one fixture farce finally sorted yesterday, there could be another on the horizon if Hibs beat Falkirk at Hampden on Saturday.

If that does happen and Alan Stubbs' side get into the Scottish Cup final, they could potentially be scheduled to play on May 28 and 31, if they were to get to the play-off final, and on May 30 at the National Stadium against Celtic or Inverness Caley Thistle.

Of course, I am hoping that there won't be a problem to solve here and it is Rangers who are preparing for the two-legged tie against the team that finishes eleventh in the Premiership this season.

But if their side is not involved, Rangers fans will definitely be keeping a close eye on how the Hampden authorities deal with Hibs' fixture schedule.

Back in 2008, we were forced to play four games in a week after reaching the UEFA Cup final.

Between May 17 and May 24, we played away to Motherwell, away to St Mirren, away to Aberdeen, and lost the league on the final day, and then beat Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup final.

It was a shambolic situation for Rangers to be in, but nobody cared about what we had to do and we were told to just get on with it. Now it looks as though the season will have to be extended if Hibs do reach the Scottish Cup and play-off finals this season.

It was ridiculous what Rangers were forced to do and I don't see the same happening to Hibs.

The two most famous words in Scottish football - 'sporting integrity' - were rolled out that season and now it is coming back again. It would be fair for Hibs to get a break, like Rangers should have been given seven years ago, if they faced a number of games in a couple of days.

The league will have to be extended but that will present more problems because players are out of contract and extensions will have to be put in place.

Players could quite easily hold clubs to ransom in that case and the clubs will have to stump up if they want to be able to field their strongest team

If the season has to go into June, then so be it. That would only be fair.

But I am sure the situation will not be lost on Rangers or the fans after what happened to us in 2008.

We shouted and bawled at the time but were told to get on with it.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Hibs' case if this situation were to unfold, though.

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