Rangers chief executive Martin Bain believes Celtic's veiled plea to the Scottish Premier League not to extend the season to ease the Light Blues' congested fixture list was based on the fear of losing their title to the Ibrox men.

Bain's Parkhead counterpart, Peter Lawwell, turned the pressure on the SPL on Friday by suggesting that an extension to the season would "threaten the integrity" of the competition.

Walter Smith's side are facing a fixture pile-up due to their continued involvement in the UEFA Cup, a Scottish Cup quarter-final replay against Partick Thistle and two outstanding SPL matches to be re-arranged over and above the Old Firm game at Parkhead - postponed at the New Year - which was pencilled in for April 16.

There has been talk of Rangers, who went six points clear of the champions at the top of the SPL with a 2-1 win over Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday, being forced to play four games in eight games with an extension to the season the only other viable possibility.

Asked his view on why Lawwell came out with his statement, Bain said: "It's probably more to do with the fact that there is a points difference at the moment.

"Why would we want to play eight games in four days? Our preference is to extend the season if it comes to that.

"But it might not come to that and I have to say that both Lex Gold SPL executive chairman) and Iain Blair have put a number of options to us which we are considering but it might be taken out of our hands."

"I'm not prone to comment on other's comments but what I would say to you is that to ask this football club to play four games in eight days, when we could be possibly competing in European competition, is not something that I think the SPL would do to be quite frank, Bain told Radio Clyde.

"Rangers' involvement in the UEFA Cup affects everything, from the co-efficient to Scottish football (as a whole), so I think it would be rather foolhardy to ask us to play four games in eight days."