Rangers posts loss and asks to play in England

Rangers yesterday pinned its hopes on regular battles with clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea as it reported a £7m loss.

Charles Green, the chief executive, said the two big Glasgow clubs, Rangers and Celtic, should be admitted to the English game, but not straight into the Premier League.

His comments came as the AIM-listed club posted the loss during the seven months to end-December.

Rangers dominated Scottish football alongside rivals Celtic until going into liquidation last June. The club owed £134m to unsecured creditors and was relegated to the Scottish Third Division after 25 of the 30 clubs in the Scottish Football League voted in favour of demotion.

The fallen giant has recently agreed a five-year kit-supply deal with the sportswear group Puma and a one-year shirt sponsorship deal with C&C's Blackthorn Cider.

Rangers said it expects to make an operating loss this season but move into profit the following year.