McGhee wants Scottish football to take better care of supporters

Motherwell boss Mark McGhee has played down the row between Fir Park owner Les Hutchison and the Scottish Professional Football League.

League chiefs issued a stinging rebuke to Hutchison's claims that club bosses had not been fully briefed on the plans for the new-look League Cup.

In a statement, the SPFL insisted both Hutchison's club and Hearts - whose chairwoman Ann Budge had raised similar complaints - had been kept fully up to date before the revamp was announced on Tuesday.

But McGhee joked the Barbados-based businessman should consider moving closer to home if he wants to know exactly what was going on in Hampden's corridors of power.

"I don't think it's an issue - I think Les needs to move nearer," McGhee said with a grin after being asked if there were communication problems with the SPFL.

"Les has people here who he relies on to have that information - for instance, (general manager) Alan Burrows or myself.

"So no, I don't think that's an issue."

The League Cup's radical overhaul will allow for a winter break to be introduced to the top-flight calendar as of January 2017.

But McGhee believes the focus of the shut-down should be on encouraging fans back through the turnstiles - and not about giving players a rest.

Speaking before Dundee's Premiership visit to Fir Park on Saturday, he said: "Everyone has to change their mentality. It's no longer like you finished on cup final day - well I did as a player - and then you were off for six weeks.

"From my point of view, the focus on the winter break should be on supporters. What do the fans want? When do they need a break? When is commercially viable for us to look after the supporters but still take care of our own interests? It's not about when do the players or the pitches need a rest. We can deal with that.

"The winter break should be about making sure punters aren't standing in the freezing cold, where the roads are dangerous and it's minus 10."