The Old Firm game and other local derbies will be played at New Year

The New Year Old Firm derby will be one of the fixtures to be announced by the Scottish Premier League on Thursday.

SPL secretary Iain Blair said: "The Old Firm fans should look forward to another New Year derby. We reintroduced this last year and it was popular."

And the SPL promises no clash between Old Firm dates and Scotland games.

Blair said: "Hopefully the Scottish FA will appreciate that there won't be an Old Firm derby before or after any of the international dates next season."

Inverness Caledonian Thistle make a return to the top flight after winning the Scottish First Division, with Falkirk dropping out of the SPL, meaning more fans will have to travel further to watch their team play the newcomers.

"For most fans, Inverness is a bit further away than Falkirk," said Blair.

"It's an extra few hours up the A9 for the clubs in the central belt but we just have to deal with that.

"You need to put it in context, though - down south you have Middlesbrough and Portsmouth in the same division, for example.

We look at which clubs have had long journeys on midweek nights or at Christmas in recent seasons and try to avoid repeating them SPL secretary Iain Blair

"We look at which clubs have had long journeys on midweek nights or at Christmas in recent seasons and try to avoid repeating them.

"But we can't have Inverness playing away on all those dates; that wouldn't be fair either."

It is not just the Old Firm match that will take place at New Year. The SPL has scheduled all the local derbies for then to minimise travel over the holiday period.

Motherwell and Rangers were among the clubs calling for an end to the controversial SPL split last season, and Blair acknowledges that it can create imbalances.

He said: "These happen when a club who finished in the top six one year finishes in the bottom six the next year, or vice versa.

"But if Celtic, Dundee United, Hearts, Hibernian, Motherwell and Rangers finish in the top six this season then all clubs will play 19 home games and 19 away games.

"Also, if this happens, clubs in each half of the split will play their opponents twice at home and twice away.

"Most of the games have also been reversed from last season.

"For example, the first Old Firm derby was at Ibrox last year, so this year it will be at Celtic Park."

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