But with seemingly no end to this winter of discontent he may not have a choice.

The fixtures are piling up thick and fast, and with the Active Nation Scottish Cup set to take a battering this weekend, there is likely to be a knock-on affect on the already re-arranged SPL matches over the next three midweeks.

With re-arranged cup ties taking priority over league matches on the midweeks, the SPL may find itself in the position of having to find another new date for some games that have been re-arranged once already.

That scenario would seem to place heavy strain on some clubs but Iain Blair, the SPL’s company secretary, felt it more prudent to have re-arranged matches played as soon as feasibly possible.

“We are aware that this means that some clubs will have a heavy January schedule, but our aim has to be to get these games played sooner rather than later,” Blair said. “It is possible we could face another very cold spell in February and any more postponements could create a build-up that would make it impossible for us to slot in all the games before the split.”

A winter break would seem the obvious solution. St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown believes league administrators need to be more flexible in difficult times like those encountered this season. He said: “The SPL has to look at the bigger picture. Maybe we have to be more flexible when weather conditions are so bad.

“It’s all very well having under-soil heating and working hard to get games on, but we have to think of the comfort and safety of fans. Should we expect them to sit and watch games when it is so cold?”