Scotland manager Craig Brown admitted yesterday he would not oppose an "Atlantic" league which would see Celtic and Rangers leave domestic football to take on teams from the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and Scandinavia.

The controversial scheme has been floated as a means of giving the few big sides in each of Europe's smaller leagues the chance to compete regularly against top-class opposition.

Brown welcomed the idea as a way of He said the move could actually improve the Scottish League. "There is an argument that it will be a better competition, in terms of those other clubs having a chance of winning," he said.

"It's not just Celtic, it's not a unilateral thing. I think all clubs agree that there is a possibility - it is a possibility only and it is years away, I suspect - but it is only at the very embryonic stage."