Tony Cascarino: I’d love to see Celtic and Rangers leave Scottish football and join English set-up or Super League

Tony Cascarino reckons Scottish football would be better off without Celtic and Rangers - insisting he would love to see the two Glasgow clubs compete in the English Premier League.

The former Hoops striker, who earned 88 international caps for the Republic of Ireland, is adamant the ‘dead’ Scottish game would become more interesting without the with Old Firm duo.

The 60-year-old claims Celtic and Rangers are being held back from realising their potential in Europe due to the lack of finances available in the SPFL and would like to see both sides accepted into the top tier in England, or as part of a breakaway Super League.

Speaking to MyBettingSites, he said: “Celtic and Rangers have to find a way to earn more money to compete at the elite level and the only way they can do that is to move to a bigger league – whether that is in England or some kind of Super League.

“They have massive supports but they just can’t realise their potential in Scotland. I know this has been discussed many times before but I feel it has to happen. Part of me asks ‘would the Scottish league be better off without Rangers and Celtic?’ because it would immediately become more competitive and another club – or clubs – could benefit from the Champions League.

“Some people say it would be dead without them – well it’s dead with them. I also think playing four times in a season is overkill. I would love to see them in the Premier League. There are always obstacles in the way and there would be a bit of fear from clubs at the bottom.

“I feel something has to happen because these two clubs need to be competing at the top of European football. European football is the benchmark for Rangers and Celtic because one or the other always wins the league – obviously, it’s been virtually all Celtic in recent years – and it’s not good reading.

“Rangers got zero points and Celtic only managed two in the last Champions League campaign. They just can’t compete.”

Reflecting on his short-lived spell at Parkhead, Cascarino opened up on his struggles in Glasgow’s East End after joining for a then club record fee of £1.1million under Irish boss Liam Brady from Aston Villa in 1991.

He returned south of the border just 12 months later as part of a swap deal for Chelsea’s Tom Boyd after failing to make an impact. Cascarino admits he still regrets not taking up an offer to move to Southampton instead of moving north, claiming it was the only time in his career that he had requested a transfer.

Cascarino also provided an insight into what he viewed was a disjointed dressing room as Celtic ended the season without a trophy and finishing third in the Scottish Premier Division behind champions Rangers and runners-up Hearts.

He stated: “I had spoken to Southampton and then Celtic came in for me and obviously I knew Liam Brady from the Republic of Ireland squad and I even roomed with him on one trip which was amazing because here I was sharing a room with such a star.

“He was the main reason I went to Celtic. I couldn’t turn them down because they are such a world-renowned club which huge support and I let my heart rule my head on that one – the reality is I should have gone to Southampton.

“I don’t think I did Liam any favours and I didn’t do any for myself. I got a lot of stick there as I wasn’t playing well. I was in and out of training.

“I knew Packie Bonner and Chris Morris from the Ireland team and I wish they had said a little bit more to me because I quickly realised the dressing room wasn’t particularly good. There seemed to be cliques and there was quite a difference in the money players were on.

“It just didn’t work our for me at Celtic. I was the record signing at the club and that wasn’t reflected in my performances. I had never asked for a transfer in my life but I walked into Liam Brady’s office and I said to him ‘It’s just not working out’.

“I wasn’t demanding to go but we discussed that I wasn’t playing and it would be better for both if I got away and we managed to do the swap deal with Tommy Boyd. So I went to Chelsea and Tommy came to Celtic and he went on to be a fantastic player for the club.

“I remember doing a dinner in Glasgow a few years ago. I was talking about my private life and I told the audience I had been married three times and had seven kids. Then this guy shouts out ‘You’ve got more f***ing kids than goals for Celtic!’ Even I had to laugh.”