NEWS: Celtic and Rangers' hopes of joining the English League next season appeared over yesterday as the governing bodies involved poured cold water on the proposal.

The two Glasgow sides have held two meetings with the Football League in the past fortnight which "explored possibilities" over the controversial switch.

After being knocked back emphatically over direct entry into the Premiership, the two clubs have sought an alternative route into English football's lucrative top flight via promotion from the English League Division One.

It was their belief that the league and their clubs, suffering financially since the collapse of ITV Digital, might welcome two such powerful additions.

But with the publication of next season's fixture list little more than a month away, and with the subject not even on the agenda at the league's executive board meeting on Thursday, sources say the chances are virtually nil.

Even in the unlikely event of dramatic developments at the league, the possibility of Celtic and Rangers gaining a back-door route into the Premiership and henceforth Europe also diminished.

Premiership rules dictate that only English and Welsh clubs are permitted to gain promotion from the English league.

If Celtic or Rangers were to win that competition, they would still face a vote on admittance - similar to their previous attempt at direct entry, which brought "no" votes from all but one of the Premiership clubs.

Meanwhile, UEFA said that even if domestic structures were to come to some agreement, qualification for their competitions would still be a matter for some debate.

UEFA spokesman Mike Lee told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Our policy is based on the way football is organised. Clubs can't pick and choose how they qualify for Europe.

"There is nothing for UEFA to consider at the moment and until or unless there is agreement between the Scottish Football Association and the English Football Association there isn't really a proposal on the table.

"We believe clubs should play in their own country. That's what association football is based on and that for Celtic and Rangers is Scotland."

Scottish Premier League chairman Lex Gold said Celtic and Rangers would need to give two years' notice of resignation anyway. He said he hoped to resolve the issue in talks with representatives from both clubs in the coming week.

Gold said: "I've been in regular discussion with both sides for the past few weeks and I'm hopeful and keen that we can get around the table.

"I'm optimistic that we will be able to get both halves of the Old Firm and representatives of the 10 other clubs together."

Despite UEFA's warning, PSV Eindhoven yesterday insisted the prospect of an Atlantic League was still very much alive. The Dutch club claim they are still very much involved in negotiations with Celtic and Rangers.

Spokesman Pedro Salazar said: "All the clubs are concerned about the general situation and we are trying to get a solution to that and that's why we are talking about everything. All the options are open at the moment. We are still talking about the Atlantic League and we will see what we can get and what we can organise."