POLICE have said there is no live investigation in connection with coach Gordon Neely and claims of abuse while he was at Rangers.

It comes after a former youth footballer spoke out to make a new claim that he was sexually abused by the coach while at Rangers and was reportedly told by the club he should pursue his complaint with liquidators.

The man claims he was abused within the Ibrox stadium by Gordon Neely who was head of youth development in the 1980s.

Rangers said they would “co-operate fully” with all those who had a “genuine interest” in seeking to protect children and “addressing the wrongs” of what had happened in the past.

It said that both the Scottish FA and Police Scotland had been informed of the matter.

Rangers have confirmed in December, 2016, that Mr Neely was sacked following an allegation of inappropriate behaviour towards a teenage player and the police were informed.

The club said that Mr Neely, who was a youth coach at Ibrox in the 1980s when police were contacted over claims made by the player, and the club said he was “dismissed immediately”.

The club said it had not been approached by Police Scotland or any authority regarding this allegation.

Several former youth players spoke two years ago about how Neely carried out sexually motivated attacks during his coaching career which included a stint at Hibs.

It is not clear whether Mr Neely, who worked at Rangers for more than three years after leaving Hibernian in 1986, has ever been subject of a police investigation.

An attempt through Freedom of Information to discover what action Police Scotland had taken over complaints relating to Mr Neely, who died of cancer in 2014, have previously been blocked.

The BBC says that an alleged victim, known only as David was told by lawyers for Rangers that the duty of care is not with the current owners.

They said that when the abuse took place Rangers were owned by a different company which was now in liquidation.

The alleged victim who said no apology was made said: “My issue’s always been that they may be a …different legal entity, but they’re still the same club. And although they don’t have the same maybe liability legally, certainly morally they’re still the same club.”

DCI Sarah Taylor, of the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Police Scotland will listen to any such disclosure, regardless of the passage of time.”