Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis is backing the excitement of the top six as a better alternative to some meaningless end-of-season games in England.
The split has been used in the Scottish top flight since 2000 and Lewis feels it gives more teams something to play for as the season reaches its conclusion.
The Dons can secure second spot in the Premiership for the fourth season in a row if they beat Celtic tomorrow, or match Rangers’ result against Hibernian at Easter Road. The Hibees’ defeat by Hearts on Wednesday secured European qualification again for Derek McInnes’s side.
Lewis played extensively in the Championship, League 1 and League 2 in England and prefers the buzz around the late-season flourish in Scotland.
Lewis said: “The format of the league is really good and it makes the back end of the season really exciting.
“When you are playing in England and there are 24 teams in the league, if you’re not going up and you can’t be relegated then the last five or six games can often be like going through the motions.
“But up here, the best six teams play each other and the bottom six teams do the same so there is generally something to play for in every match. It gives the league a great finale, it’s brilliant for the fans to have so many big games in the final weeks.
“Everyone is watching the other games and cheering for goals at other grounds, so it’s exciting. Scottish football should shout about that more because it’s a great format and the game up here is so competitive.
“It gets a slagging from people down south but I think that’s ignorance from people who don’t know anything about it. I think this is a very good league, it’s very competitive and everyone has something to play for most of the time.”
Aberdeen must go to Parkhead tomorrow and end a run of 25 league defeats dating to October 2004 to ensure they secure second.
Celtic will be presented with the league title and have the Scottish Cup final against Motherwell to prepare for next week.
But Lewis said the focus will be on the job the Dons have to do and inflict Celtic’s first home league defeat of the season.
Lewis said: “If you are not inspired by going to Parkhead with a full house and second place to play for you’re in the wrong job.
“We will have a good backing from our fans as well. What we have to do is clear, if we win then we will get second place and possibly go into Europe in the second round.
“We have done well defensively since the split and have lost just one goal, so we will need that sort of form going into this. I would love us to get a clean sheet and three points.
“It’s always a big ask going to Celtic Park but we are confident we can do it.”