Rangers director John McClelland believes if the club was to cross over to England, they would have to go straight into the top flight and not below as mooted by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside.

Gartside said that if both Rangers and Celtic were to join the English league, it would have to be in the Championship and not the Premiership.

McClelland said that no concrete offers had been made in terms of a switch and said there would be many things to consider before agreeing to such a move.

"It's no secret that some years ago we did express an interest, along with our colleagues at Celtic, in joining the English Premier League," he said.

"That didn't happen but it has come up again from proposals from the south. There has been nothing formal and if there is we will consider it, but we are not holding our breath.

"Those are the considerations that would have to be taken into account by Rangers and Celtic if that proposal did materialise.

"In some ways, it could be a financial benefit. In other ways, there might, for example, be no European football and that's a pretty important financial benefit for us.

"We have always said that at some point in time we would be interested in playing in the English Premier League but this proposal is something a bit different from that straightforward movement.

"We are not pushing it; we will see what happens. He [Gartside] has been in touch with the clubs since it was revealed but no detailed proposal has been put to us."