THE SPL and SFA today admitted defeat in talks aimed at helping Rangers in one of the most chaotic seasons in the history of Scottish football.

The SPL say there will be no change to their scheduled finish on Thursday, May 22.

The SFA say there will be no switch for the Scottish Cup Final from Saturday, May 24.

Rangers had asked for Saturday's game with Dundee United to be postponed ahead of their Uefa Cup Final against Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester next week.

That request was rejected by the SPL. But SFA President George Peat said they would be prepared to move the Scottish Cup Final between Queen of the South and Rangers and free that date for the SPL to finish that weekend.

Rangers would then have played United on Thursday, May 22 - a scenario that would have been hotly contested by most of the other parties involved.

But today, the SPL said they had no more room for manoeuvre, and here we look at the conflict of interests that made their task virtually impossible.

RANGERS

The main players in the fixture chaos, they have accused the authorities of doing nothing to aid their bid to win the Uefa Cup, although they did get a game against Gretna postponed back in December before a Champions League game with Lyon that they lost.

They wanted the United game cancelled, and the season extended beyond May 24, to aid their Uefa Cup Final. They tried to exert as much pressure as possible on the governing bodies, but without success.

CELTIC

Understandably, the Parkhead club were dead against any extension. Chief executive Peter Lawwell said the sporting integrity' of the SPL could be compromised and - after propelling themselves back into the title race to go neck and neck with Rangers - they strongly opposed any plan to extend the season further.

Celtic also have players set to join their nations for Euro 2008 and could have had problems in keeping them for three more days, while they cited yet more upheaval and extra costs for fans as a reason they wanted no change.

In yet another twist, Celtic are due to host a Phil O'Donnell benefit game - Celtic legends v Well legends - on Sunday, May 25, at Parkhead and they would have been up in arms had they been told to play their final SPL game at Tannadice that day.

MOTHERWELL

The Fir Park club were believed to be in favour of extending the SPL as long as possible. Outside of Rangers, they have more games to play than any other club and wanted as much time as possible to prepare and recover in their bid to win the Uefa Cup place.

HIBS

The Edinburgh men were believed to be in the opposition camp to an extension. They don't want Motherwell to benefit in any way in the four-way battle for a Uefa Cup place, and they would have had to wait 13 days between their game against Celtic this Sunday and their last fixture against the Steelmen.

DUNDEE UNITED

Chairman Eddie Thompson sent a letter of complaint to the SPL regarding their decision to extend the season. The Tannadice club were not keen to postpone their trip to Ibrox this week when Rangers made their initial request.

Had another extension been agreed, United would have gone 19 days without a game and would then have faced Rangers at Ibrox on Thursday, May 22 - and Celtic either two or three days later. They were dead against this in their Uefa Cup quest.

ABERDEEN

The Dons remain outsiders in the race for a Uefa Cup place, but that could change if they beat Motherwell this Saturday in their penultimate fixture. Like Hibs and Celtic, they would have had to wait two weeks before facing Rangers in the last match at Pittodrie.

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH

The First Division side were always going to go into their fairytale Scottish Cup Final having been five weeks without football. They have sold 15,000 tickets and fans are coming from far and wide to be at Hampden. They claimed today that the Cup Final would be demeaned and wanted it to go ahead as planned.

TV COMPANIES

Setanta have already been unhappy with the record amount of postponements and cancellations that have hit their coverage this season. They try to work closely with the SPL to keep all parties happy, but would be annoyed at more schedule changes. Sky TV and the BBC have live coverage of the Scottish Cup Final and they were unlikely to have been happy with that being altered.

PLAYERS' UNION

Union boss Fraser Wishart says some members have contacted him regarding compensation from the SPL for loss of deposits at having to cancel holidays in the wake of the first extension. If they had been forced to change holiday plans for a second time, players would again have been hit in the pocket.

POLICE

The pre-match planning has already swung into action for the Cup Final. Also, extra arrangements are likely to have been put in place for both sets of Old Firm supporters travelling to Dundee and Aberdeen on Thursday, May 24. Police will be happier with a midweek game, rather than the thousands more who would have been attracted by a weekend finish.

HAMPDEN

There are no events in place that would have stopped the Cup Final being moved, with the concert season not beginning until June. However, there could have been a loss of revenue from hospitality if the Queen of the South v Rangers tie had been in midweek or the following week, with some companies maybe unable to attend a new date and, therefore, due refunds.

FINALLY, THE FANS

As always, the fans were the last people to be considered. Many supporters clubs will have booked buses, many fans will have made travel arrangements based around the SPL - and Scottish Cup Final - schedule put in place when Rangers reached the Uefa Cup Final. Had that changed, many would have been hit in the pocket again.

Unlike the Players' Union, who would the fans have pursued for compensation?