Ogilvie in vow to Old Firm

28 September 2011 15:34
The SFA have vowed to make the domestic game more attractive after Craig Whyte reopened the issue of the Old Firm moving to England.[LNB] The Scottish Football Association have vowed to focus on making the domestic game as attractive as possible after Rangers owner Craig Whyte reopened the issue of the Old Firm moving to England.[LNB]Whyte revealed in a newspaper interview that his club were working on a possible move to the Premier League and also exploring the idea of forming a league with teams from other northern European countries.[LNB]Previous attempts to generate interest in the English top flight over the prospect of Celtic and Rangers moving south have fallen flat and SFA president Campbell Ogilvie is keen to focus on improving the Scottish game with the Glasgow pair.[LNB]"I haven't read the article but the issue does tend to come up every few years," Ogilvie said.[LNB]"What we've got to concentrate on is making the SPL as attractive and financially viable as possible.[LNB]"I believe any chairman at any club has to look for the best for his own club.[LNB]"The Atlantic League was a model that was put forward some 10 years ago. It didn't progress very far.[LNB]"I believe we have to focus on making the Scottish game as attractive as possible, both for the supporters and financially.[LNB]"Obviously Rangers and Celtic are an integral part of the game in Scotland and that's the way I would certainly see it going forward."[LNB]Whyte spoke about moving to England in an interview focusing on the financial challenges facing Rangers, which include a tax tribunal that could ultimately cost the Ibrox club £49million.[LNB]Whyte is confident of winning the case but admitted administration was an "obvious" choice in the event of an adverse result.[LNB]Whyte told the Daily Telegraph: "I will not allow the club to go bust. I can control the debt process absolutely, and whatever happens Rangers is going to be there playing in the SPL at Ibrox."[LNB]He added: "If we went forward into another league set-up, say the English Premier League, then it is very viable to put £100 million more in. We are not there at the moment, but we would like to be.[LNB]"[Joining the Premier League] is clearly something that we would like to see examined, it is something we are working on behind the scenes.[LNB]"But there are other potential ideas in terms of European leagues, joining some of the Nordic countries, the Netherlands to create a league."[LNB]Meanwhile, Whyte defended himself against sceptics who doubt he has the wealth needed to turn around the Ibrox club's financial affairs.[LNB]The Motherwell-born businessman said: "I have got four offices in the City, I have venture capital funds, I have asset management companies, I have stock-broking businesses, I have businesses in France, in Holland, I have got thousands of employees, but I don't see why I should make every aspect of that public."

Source: Team_Talk