The Scottish Football Association have failed in their attempts to revamp the qualification process for Scottish teams in Europe.Rangers' win over St Johnstone in the last four of the Scottish Cup earned them a meeting with Queen of the South in the final and, with Walter Smith's men already guaranteed European football next season, the First Division club will claim a UEFA Cup berth regardless of whether they win the trophy or not.

Motherwell, Dundee United and Hibernian are all vying for the opportunity to join Queen of the South in Europe by finishing third in the SPL.

Chief Executive Gordon Smith believes the team who finishes fourth in the SPL, rather than the Scottish Cup finalists, should be rewarded with European football but his hopes of implementing those changes for the following campaign have suffered a blow at the hands of UEFA.

He said: "We have been informed by UEFA that there will be no change.

"They are reviewing European competitions and what they are saying is that we cannot change the current circumstances for next season even at this stage.

"However, in August they will be putting out some results of the review so they may change it themselves in terms of European qualification for next season.

"I felt, coming into this job, that we should be looking at the wider picture and that's no disrespect to any team in particular - I'd like to wish Queen of the South all the best.

"I just felt, in terms of the competition, it would be fairer to revert to fourth place in the league rather than have the (Scottish Cup) runners-up involved."

Meanwhile, Queen of the South boss Gordon Chisholm has spoken of his joy at playing in the UEFA Cup next season.

He told BBC Scotland: "It was a wonderful experience and a fairytale getting through to the final. To now qualify for Europe is just fantastic."

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