KI SUNG-YUENG admits he is worried about the damage which is being done to the SPL as a result of Rangers dropping down to Division Three.

The South Korean midfielder is concerned about the standard of football which will be left, and appears to be preparing the way for his exit to the Premiership.

With QPR ready to conclude a £7million transfer for the 23-year-old – personal terms continue to delay the move – Ki holds the key to Neil Lennon bringing in the central defender and striker he wants.

As he prepares to play in the Olympics, with his first game against Mexico in Newcastle on Thursday, Ki gave the heaviest hint yet he feels it is the right time to end his two-and-a-half-year stay in Scotland.

He said: "If Rangers drop out of the SPL, the league will drop down as well.

"The Old Firm derby will be gone, so the league will be weaker. I worry about that."

Ki had previously expressed a wish to play in Spain. But with more interest coming from QPR and Liverpool, he now appears to have set the Premiership as his target.

"If I have a chance to play in England, it would be good to play here," he said from the South Koreans' London base.

"For now, I am focusing on the Olympic Games. Who knows what will happen afterwards?

"It is a good thing for me to be linked with these clubs. It means they know who I am and how I play.

"It's a good thing for me to improve, to play in England."

Another Celt concerned about the impact Rangers' absence from the SPL will have is Beram Kayal.

The Israeli international – who suffered a serious ankle injury in the Old Firm game in December and only got back for the final game of the title-winning season – saw what happened in Italy when some of their biggest clubs were removed from the top flight.

He believes it's a price which has to be paid and said: "We're talking about it a lot and my answer is, when it happened to Juventus, Serie A got a lot weaker.

"So now, what can we say about the SPL?

"But, to be fair is more important than anything else, and I think that, for football, this decision is the right one.

"I'm happy I'm in a clean and healthy club, with big tradition and lots of titles".

Kayal has picked up another ankle injury, which ruled him out of the final game of Celtic's tour, the 4-0 defeat to Ajax.

However, he is confident he will be ready to face Norwich tomorrow and Inter Milan on Saturday.

He knows how important good results will be ahead of facing HJK Helsinki in their Champions League qualifier next midweek and said: "These friendly games are made to build the team's confidence, and to lose 4-0 in such a game, of course we didn't achieve the goal.

"But we're taking the good things out of it and I hope that, in time, we will reach our best fitness."

"Players just got back from Euro 2012 and some of them are not in shape. Some are injured, including me.

"We changed a lot of things against Ajax. We are trying a new strategy, but I believe that, with this squad, we will go forward".