Holding a Yankee candle for Scotland

HIBS owner Ian Gordon insists Scottish football's proud "heritage" makes it attractive to American investors as a Rangers takeover moves closer.

- DARREN JOHNSTONE

A US group involving 49ers Enterprises - the investment arms of San Francisco 49ers - and healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh are thought to be putting the finishing touches to their deal to become majority shareholders at Ibrox.

Their arrival will increase the American involvement at Premiership clubs, with Hibs, both Dundee clubs and St Johnstone also under the control of owners from across the Atlantic.

And despite the seemingly impossible task of trying to make money in the Scottish game, Gordon insists football in this country is appealing for a number of reasons.

He said: "In Scotland you have that heritage of football, it's different, it's just different from how soccer is or American football is back home.

"It's not something that is passed down generation by generation and there's real history here.