MORTON chairman Douglas Rae believes Third Division football is the best-case scenario for newco Rangers, but has predicted that they will face opposition to their presence from clubs in the lower tier of the Scottish Football League
• Morton chairman Douglas Rae believes Third Division clubs would oppose Rangers’ presence in the lower tiers of Scottish football
• General consensus is that Rangers should not be allowed to drop down just one division
• Two non-league clubs rumoured to have lodged bids to join the SFL
Rae insists the SFA’s bid to merge the SPL with the SFL in order to provide the reconstituted Ibrox club with a softer landing after their rejection by top flight clubs is doomed to failure.
At a meeting of the Morton Supporters Trust, Rae formally declared his intention to vote against Rangers’ admission to what is currently the First Division when all 30 SFL clubs meet at Hampden next Tuesday.
The businessman, who rescued Morton when he bought the club ten years ago, can see no prospect of the proposal achieving the 75 per cent support of SFL clubs required.
“I think the SFA will be surprised at the strength of feeling among First Division clubs against Rangers going straight in at that level. They should be treated the same way as any other club. Rangers should have the same punishment as Livingston and be banished to the Third Division.
“My understanding is that two non-league clubs have lodged applications for the potential vacancy in the SFL. That would be in the Third Division and that’s where Rangers should apply to join. The normal practice should apply – that the SFL clubs receive a presentation from all applicants and then cast a vote on who they believe should get into the Third Division. It has to be consistent. Otherwise, it is being done only because it is Rangers.
Rae has also warned against creating an option for any other clubs who become insolvent to avoid the full consequences of their situation.
“It would be dangerous to just let Rangers drop one division as new club with no debt,” he said. “Let’s then say that Motherwell, just as an example, were in a bad way financially. They could just decide to go into administration, then liquidation if necessary, if they knew a precedent had been set where they would only drop into the First Division.