BANSTEAD Athletic could be set to form an unlikely alliance with Scottish Premier League giants Glasgow Rangers, according to manager Dave Tidy.

Reports in the Scottish press this week suggested Rangers have been looking for a base in the south of England to set up an academy.

And, with Banstead Athletic's plans for a new synthetic pitch, combined with a few important connections between the clubs, Merland Rise is on their radar.

Athletic boss Tidy is over the moon at the potential Rangers partnership.

"It has been one of those things that has been talked about for a bit but now it all seems to be falling into place," the Banstead boss explained. "Aiden Earley, who was involved with Epsom Eagles, then came on to our board when they joined us, was part of the consortium that has bought Glasgow Rangers. And the talk is that we are going to be their base in the south of England.

"It is really exciting times for Banstead. I can't wait. Nothing has been signed yet, but we are a long way down the road as far as the negotiations are concerned.

"They have even spoken about sending a Rangers team down for a pre-season friendly."

Banstead are owned by chairman Terry Molloy, but, as part of the redevelopment, Tidy claims that Earley, whose son plays for Epsom Eagles, will become joint owner of the Combined Counties League Premier Division club.

"Once the lease has been signed on the redevelopment then Aiden Earley is going to become joint owner of Banstead with Terry Molloy," Tidy said. "Aiden has funded the new pitches which should generate a lot of money. As a footballing person I'm mainly concerned with what's happening on the pitch but it's great to see these things happening and hopefully we will have the situation where we can push forward on the pitch due to these changes.

"The plans for what they are building at Banstead are fantastic; there is going to be a gym and maybe even a manager's office!"

And Tidy believes it was Banstead's potential for expansion that appealed to Rangers.

"They wanted somewhere in the south to set up an academy and with our grounds I think Rangers saw a lot of potential," Tidy said. "I'm not sure how it will work; whether they will send down their coaches from Scotland or employ local coaches but they want to set up an academy from around age seven and then the ones that are good enough might play for Rangers one day.

"I'm excited for it but talk is cheap, so I don't want to say too much until the bulldozers come in, but Banstead Athletic will be a force if things go right."

Earley seemed to substantiate the claims in the Daily Record this week, where he was quoted as saying that there was a "possible involvement of Rangers with Banstead Athletic Football Club".

He said: "This is a project for developing young talent and has been two years in the making."

However, Banstead chairman and owner Molloy has denied links that Banstead's planned academy will have anything to do with Rangers.

"It is not a secret that Aiden [Earley] is involved with Rangers, but to say that any academy we set up at Banstead would be a Rangers academy is not true," Molloy said. "At the moment nothing is going on with the redevelopment until we have clearance from the council. And the fact that Aiden is involved in Rangers is neither here nor there, he is just a small part of this club."

But Molloy did admit that he and Earley are "having a discussion" about the possibility of becoming joint-owners of Athletic.