ON COURSE FOR CALENDAR CATASTROPHE

32. Untidy state (4)

33. Riotous brawl (5)

34. Gentle or loving touch (6)

35. Counteractive substance (8)

36. Aristocracy (6)

DOWN

12. Synagogue minister (5)

13. Short light oars (7)

15. Personal cooling device (3)

16. Perish (3)

18. Hurries (6)

20. Frighten (5)

21. Noah's vessel (3)

22. Assistance (3)

23. Enter a country by force (6)

25. Falsehood (3)

28. Prose composition (5)

30. Permit (5)

31. Not ever (5)

32. Animal flesh as food (4)

33. Postal system (4)

IAIN BLAIR, the SPFL secretary, has admitted that Premiership clubs face the “nightmare” prospect of having to play four games in eight days when football restarts after the coronavirus pandemic.

Blair has admitted that shoehorning all of the top flight and Betfred Cup fixtures into a congested calendar is the most challenging task he has faced in the 22 years that he has been in his position. And he has ruled out the possibility of Scotland’s players having free weekends before the Euro 2020 play-off-semi-final against Israel in October and, if they win that, the final.

Blair said: “With 37 of the 71 dates ruled out, that leaves us a maximum of 34 fixture dates to fit in the required 33 rounds of pre-split SPFL matches.

“It is already incredibly tight, and that is before we consider how many games we will inevitably lose to bad winter weather and Scottish Cup replays.

“There is a very real risk that several SPFL teams will be forced to play four matches in eight days – and perhaps more than once – which would be a nightmare."