By Jeff Randall BBC business editor

Fans are still recovering from the Uefa cup defeat

For a man who suffered the disappointment of seeing his Celtic side beaten by Porto in the Uefa Cup Final, Dermot Desmond is in a remarkably upbeat mood about the forthcoming season.

As the club's controlling shareholder, the Irish tycoon knows there is much still to be achieved, even though the Parkhead club effectively dominates the game in Scotland along with its arch-rival, Rangers.

Talking to me at his company's Dublin offices, on the banks of the Liffey, he throws down the gauntlet to the television broadcasters who bankroll much of the game in Britain.

Desmond believes that the collective selling of TV rights by the English and Scottish leagues represents an illegal cartel and should be blocked.

"It's pretty apparent that Sky and the Premier League and maybe the BBC have got together and formed a little cartel," he says.

That's not in the interest of football, it's not in the interest of competition. And something has to be done about it."

Brand value

I ask him if he is the man to issue a legal challenge. He's up for it: "Absolutely, yes."

With huge resources at his disposal, Desmond intends to test his views in the courts.

He has taken advice from lawyers and competition experts in Britain and Europe, and is confident that his opposition to the collective selling of TV rights will stack up.

With its huge following, inside and outside Scotland, Celtic is one of only a few clubs that can claim to have a genuine international brand.

Desmond is confident that if its TV rights were marketed individually, Celtic would generate many times what it currently receives from selling them as part of a Scottish Premier League package.

He tells me that the owners of clubs, who are responsible for all stakeholders, including the fans, should be responsible for TV negotiations rather than going along with collective bargaining, which is all about "protecting the weak."

Rising debts

Unrelated to the issue of TV rights, Desmond highlights the potential benefits to English soccer if Celtic and Rangers were to join the Premier League. And stresses just how much those benefits are required.

He reckons that England's 20 top-flight clubs have between them about �800m of debt.

With the value of players falling, this represents a growing danger to the game's stability.

If the problem of this debt is not faced soon, Desmond predicts that "you'll have a lot of [English] clubs entering into administration or bankruptcy".

More that that, he believes, most fans would love it if Celtic and Rangers were playing the cream of English football every week.

"People want to see Celtic and Rangers in the Premier League in the UK. The neutral wants to see Celtic and Rangers. . . Celtic and Rangers would bring in excess of �100m a year to the Premier League, so that would resolve some of the [financial] problems that exist."

Implosion

Desmond will not pursue any legal moves to crowbar the Old Firm into the English league. "We want to earn the right, we don't just want to walk in there."

But believes it will happen eventually.

I ask him to look into his crystal ball and forecast the shape and structure of British football in five years' time.

He warns that if looming financial threats are not tackled, then the domestic game could "implode", with lots of clubs "going bust".

But if the authorities get it right, what then?

"There'll be better facilities for spectators and there'll be more competitive football and more exciting football."

And will the Old Firm be playing in England?

He pauses, knowing just how controversial this issue has become, then gives me the positive answer that he believes will enhance football both sides of the border.