Gordon Smith, chief executive of the Scottish FA, has renewed his campaign for a two-month winter break after the Scottish Cup fourth-round wash-out this weekend.

Gordon Smith, the chief executive of the Scottish FA, has renewed his campaign to introduce a two-month winter break after the Scottish Cup fourth-round wash-out this weekend.

Rangers' fixture backlog was exacerbated yesterday by the postponement of their tie against East Stirlingshire at Ibrox. It became the eighth match of the scheduled 16 to fall victim to the weather and with the SFA confirming that the match will now be played on January 23, it has also prompted a further postponement of the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.

Smith has long advocated a radical shake-up of the Scottish football calendar and submitted a paper outlining his proposals seven years ago to the country's football administrators. Last night, Smith told The Herald he would welcome debate on his blueprint, but admitted his new position of authority does not automatically ensure a greater platform on which to campaign.

"What we need is a real serious debate on the issue,"

he said last night. "What has happened this week and in recent weeks with the cancellations has brought the issue back to the forefront. It is something I have had a great interest in for 17 years and even at the time of my presentation seven years ago, we still had a one-month break.

"To be honest, I probably have no more power on this issue in my position as chief executive than I had as a pundit. Ultimately it will be down to the Scottish Premier League."

Smith's experiences in both Austria, where he was with Admira Wacker, and also Switzerland, where he played for Basle, prompted him to make a presentation to the SPL and SFA to realign the domestic fixture schedule. Central to the plans was a two month shut-down over January and February, with the Scottish Cup final bringing the curtain down on the season at the end of June. Clubs would have July off and resume the new season at the start of August.

His plans have remained on the back-burner since, but he is convinced the two-month shutdown would enhance the quality of the product - despite the inherent flaws of the system. Clubs outside the Old Firm would be dead against the move since their revenue would stop in January and February while they would still be liable for staff wages.

It has also been pointed out that playing into late June would conflict with the major international tournaments, an issue that lost relevance after 10 years of failure to qualify for the World Cup and European Championship finals.

"I have listened to all the reasons why it can't work but to be honest I am not convinced by them," said Smith. "Clubs may lose out on gate money in January and February but they would still earn the same amount over the course of the year, it is just an issue of readjusting the distribution of that money.

"As for the finals, it is not something we would have had to have worried about for a long time but what better way of having to revert back to the old way - which has been acceptable for this long - than to do it because we have a major championship to participate in.

"It is something Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Croatia have all managed to contend with."

Smith is also adamant that a two-month hiatus would help protect pitches that become badly scarred and even unplayable after excessive wear and tear during the winter months. As a result, he predicts a qualitative improvement in the entertainment provided. "You only have to look at some of the pitches to see how big a problem playing in adverse conditions can be," he said.

"From the research conducted, the majority of matches cancelled take place in January and February - for some reason December is not such a problem. Playing through the winter can leave pitches in an awful state for the remainder of the season so having the break would undoubtedly improve the standard of football."

Today, the SPL will attempt to resolve Rangers' deepening situation, while the SFA have already confirmed dates for rescheduled and replayed fixtures.

The Scottish Cup takes precedence over Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixtures and, thus, Rangers have been told to play the third division side on January 23, the cup replay date but also one that was set last week to stage the Glasgow derby match cancelled two weeks ago following the death of Phil O'Donnell.

Rangers, the SPL and SFA discussed the matter yesterday and the league organisers will hold a second emergency fixtures meeting in a week in an attempt to sort out the club's deepening crisis.

Yesterday's game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, just as Rangers' league match against St Mirren at Love Street was called-off on Tuesday evening. Rangers are also due to play their other outstanding fixture, against Gretna, on Wednesday night, but continued rainfall in Lanarkshire over the next 48 hours could also place that match in jeopardy.

In retrospect, the wisdom of Rangers' decision to request the postponement of the Gretna game, originally scheduled for December 9, to allow greater preparation time for their ill-fated Champions League game against Olympique Lyonnais, is questionable.

The Ibrox club, assuming that they can overcome East Stirlingshire, have been drawn away to Hibernian in the fifth-round on February 2 or 3 and Walter Smith will be eager to avoid a replay that could inflict further damage to an already fractured season.