Celtic and Rangers should be allowed to play in the FA Cup to give the competition a new lease of life, according to former St Johnstone striker Graham Cummins.
The English national cup competition has been devalued in recent years with most of the top clubs in the English Premier League playing weakened teams in the FA Cup and prioritising the league.
Bur former Irish striker Cummins - who played for Preston North End before moving to St Johnstone for a two-year spell - reckons he knows exactly what would help the ailing tournament...inviting the Old Firm to play in the FA Cup.
Cummins said: "No matter how much I hear or read ‘the magic of the cup’ over the next couple of days, I won’t be conned into the notion that the FA Cup is still a trophy of value.
"The FA Cup is in desperate need of being revamped.
"The notion of Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers joining the English league is constantly floated around, but it doesn’t seem feasible anytime soon.
"However, could it be possible to allow access to the FA Cup for the Old Firm? Not just for the benefit of the Scottish clubs, but also to help a dying competition.
"Having Celtic and Rangers involved in the FA Cup would certainly have people talking and would surely rejuvenate supporters' interest.
"It might also help to some degree help settle the debate of whether or not Celtic and Rangers would be good enough for English football."
READ MORE: Michael Beale in Rangers can't compete Celtic transfer admission
Scottish clubs were a regular fixture in the FA Cup in the 19th century and Queen's Park reached the final two years in a row in 1884 and 1885. Rangers reached a semi final and Partick Thistle reached the fifth round.
But the last Scottish club to play in the competition was Gretna 21 years ago when they played in the English non-leagues.
Meanwhile, Michael Beale insists that Rangers cannot afford to splash the cash like Celtic do.
He commented: "We don’t spend the most money in this country.
“When we sat here last week and people were saying Celtic have made three, are you going to make three? No.
“We will make what we think but also they spend a lot more money than us. So Ange is a lucky man, because he has spent a lot of money.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel