The Scottish Professional Football League will not change the 2016/17 Premiership fixture list, despite clubs arguing an anomaly could cost them over £100,000 each this year.

Motherwell and Partick Thistle reacted angrily after being handed one home match each with Celtic and Rangers, while other clubs will enjoy the financial benefit of hosting four games.

Thistle had called for compensation or for the fixture list to be redone. Motherwell said they would "not accept" the decision, which they outlined would have a "serious financial impact", as well as having competitive implications.

But STV understands there is no appetite from those in charge to appease the clubs in terms of redoing the fixtures, as it would disrupt a two-year rotation system which would potentially have an adverse competitive and financial effect on other teams.

Under the system - and provided they are not relegated from the Premiership - Motherwell, Partick Thistle and Hamilton Academical will see the discrepancy balance out next season. They will welcome Celtic and Rangers twice each, while other clubs host two matches.

For that reason, it is also understood there is no prospect of financial compensation for the clubs this year.

In the past, clubs were guaranteed three home matches against Celtic and Rangers on a two/one split basis.

The previous system also ensured the Old Firm clubs were both guaranteed 19 home games, which was considered privately to be the "golden rule" of fixture scheduling in the old Scottish Premier League as it ensured balance in the title race.

But Rangers' promotion to the top flight did not see a return to the old way of working, with the Ibrox club instead inheriting the fixture list of relegated Dundee United.

Partick Thistle estimated that losing a home match against one of their fellow Glasgow clubs will cost them £120,000 they had already budgeted for. The loss for Motherwell is believed to be around £150,000.

To highlight the impact that will have - the loss to Motherwell accounts for about 5% of their turnover. For Thistle, it is around 4%.

The financial loss for some clubs also represents a gain for others. Dundee, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hearts all have four home matches against Celtic and Rangers, meaning the first two teams in particular are likely to enjoy a cash boost comparable to the losses sustained by others.

Football clubs do not work out their budgets on the day fixture lists are published. Months of planning will have gone in to forecast likely revenues in the 2016/17 season, based on Rangers being a Premiership club, with contracts being extended and players signed accordingly.

The clubs affected made no attempt prior to the fixture lists coming out to clarify that the previous system would be adopted. Instead, they found out just one hour before the public announcement last Friday.

The loss suffered in 2016/17 will however balance itself out in season 2017/18, provided the affected clubs are still in the Premiership.

The clubs affected argue that they will be adversely affected by having to travel to Celtic Park and Ibrox twice respectively, while their nearest rivals will only have to go once before the split.

It is also argued that the financial boost their competitors will enjoy will result in them being able to bring in players on better wages, or more players, to increase their competitive prospects.

Changing the fixtures to revert to the previous system could however have had an impact where some clubs, for example, faced four pre-split trips to the Highlands three years in a row.

The fixture scheduling system works on a two-year rotation basis which ensures clubs have 17 home games before the split one season, and 16 games in the following campaign.

If a team has faced an opponent pre-split at home two times out of three in the previous season, they will then only host them once the next year.

An external company is hired for three weeks each year by the SPFL to come up with the fixture list groupings, which are calculated by computer. Staff at Hampden then manually work out the best date order to put the games in.

"This has a serious financial impact on our club, and we cannot and will not accept it.

"It creates a significant financial advantage for some clubs over others and in our view, just as important, compromises the integrity of the competition, both in terms of the potential/need for adjusting respective player budgets up or down and the amount of games teams have to play at what has historically been the most challenging venues.

"In previous seasons since the split, there has always been parity where clubs had the same amount of home games against both Old Firm sides (almost always three) and were expected to travel to both Celtic Park and Ibrox the same amount as every other team in the division prior to the split.

"There was no hint of this fundamental change until we received the fixtures at 8.02am [on Friday] and, therefore, like the other clubs in our position, now find ourselves significantly worse off than we were on Thursday night and with insufficient time to make appropriate adjustments.

"We expect this unacceptable position to be reversed immediately."

"The board of Partick Thistle FC has expressed anger and frustration at the fixture list for season 2016/17 announced by the SPFL earlier today, which will put the club and two other Premiership sides at a sporting and financial disadvantage in the forthcoming season.

"In previous seasons where both Rangers and Celtic were in the Premiership, pre-split fixtures have been organised to ensure that every club plays three home games against the Old Firm. Without any notification from the SPFL to the contrary, we had expected that this practice would continue this season and that is the basis on which we and other clubs have budgeted.

"However, this season we, Motherwell and Hamilton have been handed only two Old Firm games at home whilst Dundee, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hearts have four home games. That means an expected loss in revenues for the club of £120,000 before a ball is even kicked, whilst other clubs will get an unexpected bonus of a similar figure.

"Financial implications aside, we believe there is a significant sporting disadvantage created by the fixture list as it stands. Pre-split, we will make four trips away to the two biggest clubs in the country while some clubs will only make two. In the past, each club has made three trips.

"It is also worth noting that, for the second time in three seasons, SPFL fixturing means that we will have no competitive match on the second weekend of the campaign.

"Having had no communication from the SPFL explaining these changes prior to this morning's announcement, Partick Thistle intends to seek compensation from the SPFL for all clubs concerned or that they reconsider the fixture list to ensure a level playing field for all."