FORMER Celtic striker Charlie Nicholas has slammed Rangers, accusing the club of acting like "spolied little brats" over the decision to refuse Neil Lennon and Chris Sutton access to Ibrox on Thursday night.

And Nicholas reckons that all of Scottish football will have to come together to confront the Premiership winners - and threaten to withhold sponsorship money to make the Govan outfit toe the line.

Lennon and Sutton were slated to appear on BT Sport's coverage of the two Glasgow clubs' Europa League fixtures last week but were not allowed into the broadcaster's studio at Ibrox.

Sutton claimed that Rangers chief Stewart Robertson told the pair they were a security risk and could therefore not attend the match at Ibrox, while the Gers insisted that they acted in line with UEFA's broadcasting obligations.

Writing in his Daily Express column, Nicholas branded the incident 'an absolute embarassment'.

"Steven Gerrard said when Rangers won the Premiership title last season his club would stay humble," Nicholas wrote.

"Well, they've failed. There's not one single ounce of humility in that Ibrox boardroom right now.

"Everything coming out of the club just now seems to involve getting into arguments with other factions of the Scottish game.

"Rangers are coming across like spoiled little brats and their behaviour has been an absolute embarrassment.

"Last week ex-Celtic men Neil Lennon and Chris Sutton were denied the chance to broadcast from inside Ibrox because the BT Sports pundits were deemed a 'security risk'."

Rangers are also currently involved in a dispute with league sponsors cinch, and Nicholas feels that the rest of Scottish football could end up joining forces to 'face up to the bullies' - adding that sponsorship money could be witheld from the Gers in order to exert some pressure.

Nicholas continued: "If Rangers want to fight everybody, then every other club should band together and confront them.

"If Rangers are still holding grudges over the way they were ditched into the lower leagues – which WAS unfair – then their mindset is just the same as the embittered club who had to climb back from the bottom division nine years ago.

"If Rangers can’t move on, then Scottish football can’t progress.

"It’s as if they don’t want to make our game better, but are more than happy to insist the authorities have sold it short.

"In an ideal world, all clubs should be getting together so we can move our
product forward and make it a bit more interesting for everyone.

"But the reality is, if Rangers want to be Scottish football renegades then every other club should face up to the bullies.

"The others have a right to protect themselves and to show that Rangers
have got things badly wrong.

"If it means stopping financial payments from the SPFL or withholding
money from UEFA then that is what has to be done."