Rugby club boss mulls Rangers bid

GLASGOW - Agence France-Presse

Rangers’ manager Ally McCoist reacts during a Premier League match at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow. REUTERS photo

The Scottish owner of top English rugby union club Sale is contemplating a bid for stricken Glasgow football giants Rangers -- but only if no other viable offer emerges.

Administrators of the cash-strapped Scottish champions, who have revealed there has been interest from America and the Far East, have given a March 16 deadline for “serious” bidders to make their positions clear.

Sale owner Brian Kennedy told BBC Scotland yesterday: “I don’t really want to buy the club, but I don’t want to see Rangers die.

“I’ve said from the start that if the administrators view my offer as the best one for the club, I’m happy to take it on.

“But I’ll be equally happy if someone else can take it on.” Kennedy said he’d be reluctant to take charge at Ibrox, citing the example of former owner David Murray, whose achievements with the club are set to be outweighed by his controversial decision to sell Rangers to Craig Whyte.

Mass redundancies were prevented last Friday when all players accepted wage cuts of up to 75 percent for the rest of the season.

Administrators were called in on February 14 after tax authorities went to court to seek payment of an unpaid bill of £9 million built up since May.