Albion Rovers rebrand to Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge bid revealed as consortium call on current board to resign

A consortium aiming to take over Albion Rovers and rename the club Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge to 'tap into the town's Irish heritage' has called on the current Cliftonhill board to resign after overseeing the end of the club's 120-years in senior football.

Rovers were relegated from the SPFL last week after losing the Pyramid play-off final to Spartans and will now play in the Lowland League next season.

But it is a situation the 'Project Phoenix' consortium claim would never have happened had Rovers not rejected an initial takeover bid last summer.

The consortium still aspires to take control of Rovers and rebrand the club to reflect what it believes is the heritage, history and culture of the town's demographics, as part of a multi-million pound plan.

But they also admit they may acquire another club and become a local rival if Rovers continue to snub their plans.

Their project includes building a new 10,000 seater multi-purpose entertainment arena in Coatbridge within five years of rebranding the club to Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge.

The consortium, which is not affiliated with League of Ireland club Shamrock Rovers, claim the new arena would be the home of the rebranded club, an entertainment complex and would also be the home of a local GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) football team, with training and coaching facilities for the local community and schools.

Among the proposals are an Irish-Scots Museum and cultural centre, which the consortium claims would create hundreds of new jobs in the area during construction and when operational.

London-based potential investor Paul Reilly, who hails from Coatbridge, met with Rovers chairman Ian Benton and the board last summer on behalf of UK, Irish and US investors