Cross-border cup mooted

NEW Rangers director of operations Ali Russell believes a cross-border League Cup could revive the competition in both Scotland and England.

Russell stressed that nothing is being ruled out as he seeks ways to generate more income at Ibrox. One way of doing that is by generating more interest in Scottish football and a return of clashes between clubs from England and Scotland - as happened in the days of the old Texaco Cup, in the Seventies - has been mooted.

Russell spent three years as deputy managing director at Queens Park Rangers and is well versed in the struggles of clubs seeking to maximise revenue streams. He also believes there would be an appetite for the competition in England. The current League Cup format - known as the Carling Cup south of the border - was won most recently by Birmingham City. Rangers, meanwhile, are the holders of the Co-Operative Insurance Cup in Scotland.

"There's been a lot of talk about cross-border cup competitions," Russell said. "How do you generate more interest and develop football going forward? I certainly think the League Cup (in England] over the last couple of years is certainly one that's had some issues in terms of teams like Arsenal and Manchester United not playing their first teams in the early stages of that competition. A cross-border aspect would certainly generate a lot more interest. It's not something that's necessarily been discussed at this point in time but should we be involved in those sort of discussions? Absolutely. If we feel that there's an appetite from fans I see no reason why that wouldn't be something we would look at."