Dundee take Rangers' place in SPL

Dundee will replace Rangers in the Scottish Premier League after the Glasgow side were demoted following their financial crisis, clubs decided yesterday. Dundee finished runners-up last season in the Scottish First Division.

Rangers have been told to relaunch in the fourth tier, breaking the stranglehold they and city rivals Celtic have had on the Scottish game for decades.

There had been talk of a breakaway SPL2 to accommodate Rangers but that has not materialised. Some SPL clubs fear they will struggle financially in the absence of one of the best supported clubs in Britain.

"It was agreed that Dundee FC would be invited to fill the space vacated by Rangers FC in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League," the SPL said in a statement after its annual meeting. Dundee have been out of the SPL since 2005.