Tommy McIntrye’s Celtic B team has certainly enjoyed a reasonably successful debut season in the Lowland League and there is now going to be a discussion – followed by a vote – on whether this one season trial to allow both Celtic and theRangers B teams to play in the fifth tier of Scottish football as ‘guest clubs’ is going to continue beyond this season.
Celtic currently are in second place in the Lowland league, well behind already confirmed Champions Bonnyrigg Rose who currently lead the table by 13 points, with theRangers back in fourth spot. Neither guest club is allowed to win promotion and both pay a guest fee of £25,000 as an entry payment for participation.
Ange Postecoglou has the Celtic B train right next to the Celtic first team squad all season, with both Tommy McIntrye and Darren O’Dea both speaking at press conferences about the B team playing in exactly the same way as the first team. Indeed Ange has already selected numerous players from the B Team with perhaps another – young Rocco Vata – about to join that gallant B team band of players who have made their first team debuts under Ange this season.
Stephen McGowan, writing in Scottish Daily Mail this morning reports that both Glasgow clubs are set to remain in the Lowland League next season and that both clubs will make a presentation to the SLFL at a general meeting on 21 March before a vote is taken. McGowan also reports that both clubs have been contacting the other clubs in the league this week to discuss continuing this initiative which certainly from a Celtic perspective appears to have been a success and the opponents all appear to have enjoyed playing the young Hoops with numerous entertaining games.
A Lowland League spokesperson told Sportsmail:
“A formal discussion about any future involvement of guest clubs is scheduled to take place at our planned General Meeting with clubs later this month. As ever, we are open to ideas that can progress the Lowland League – and Scottish football as a whole – but it has to be a collaborative process with our members.”
Despite paper talk of Hearts looking at entering a B team of their own into this structure, McGowan reports that there has been no contract from the Edinburgh club with the Lowland League on that.
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