HEARTS and Hibs could face Manchester United in a British Super Cup next season if proposals to merge CIS Insurance Cup with the Worthington Cup are given the go-ahead.

The Football League is working on a plan which would see the two sets of semi-finalists come together to give both competitions a much-needed boost.

Clubs have fielded under-strength teams in the Worthington Cup in recent seasons, while some Scottish clubs have questioned the validity of a competition which no longer carries a European place for the winners.

David Burns, chief executive of the Football League, today said the changes could be introduced as early as next season.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said.

“If we can work our plans up and get them finished by the end of March there is no reason why we can’t have it by next season.

“It would mean the four most successful teams in Scotland and the four most successful in England would meet.”

Rangers and Celtic meet in the first semi-final of the CIS Cup at Hampden tonight, while Hibs take on Ayr United tomorrow.

In England, Blackburn will face Tottenham Hotspur in this month’s final after semi-final wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea respectively.

The current plan is for the two competitions to proceed independently until the semi-final stage.

However, Burns, who claimed the new format would lean heavily on a history of “tribal conflicts” between Scottish and English clubs, said the amalgamation could be extended to the quarter-final stages if the idea proved a successful one.

He added: “The permutations are endless really. I think the clubs in England, Wales and Scotland are interested in anything which will create more commercial income for them, but the competition must have sporting relevance.”

The proposals were today given a cautious welcome by Hibs’ managing director Rod Petrie.

With tomorrow’s CIS Cup semi-final a more pressing priority, he said: “I believe some discussions have taken place but we will have to wait and see exactly what proposals are forthcoming.

“If it has the effect of raising the profile of the competition, and making it more lucrative for the clubs involved, it may turn out to be a good thing.”

Taken from the Scotsman