RANGERS, Dundee and Ross County were the three Scottish Premiership sides who exceeded a so-called 'red line' for wages in 2018.

The research by Kieran Maguire, a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool, examined the wages data of more than 70 British clubs.

Uefa recommend that for every £100 earned in income a maximum of £70 should be paid out in wages. So, the ratio should not go above 70 per cent.

According to the study relegated Ross County topped the wages to turnover ratio chart with 89%, while Dundee sat at 78.1 per cent.

Rangers spent around £24.1m on wages, equating to 73.8 per cent of their £32.6m in revenue, during the 2017-18 campaign.

Meanwhile the research found that 58.4 per cent of Celtic's £101.6million turnover was spent on staff wages - an approximate amount of £59.3m.

Other clubs were well below the 70 per cent mark, with Kilmarnock at 61.7 per cent, Hearts at 57.9 per cent, Hibs and 55.8 per cent and Aberdeen at 55.6 per cent.

The Herald:

The clubs with the lowest wages to turnover ratio.

Motherwell with a 57.5% wages to turnover ratio, was the lowest of the Scottish clubs in the survey, followed by Hearts at 57.9% and Celtic.

Out of the the 74 clubs studied, Rangers actually sat at 44th in the wages vs turnover table.

And some 17 clubs from the EFL Championship and League One, including Wolves, Reading, and Scunthorpe spent more on wages than they generated in income, and were well over 100% with Birmingham City's wages vs turnover ratio the highest at 202.3%.

Meanwhile the clubs with the lowest wages to income ratio were Spurs at 38.8%, Huddersfield at 50%, Manchester United at 50.2% and Manchester City at 51.9%.

Mr Maguire says the overall profit made in the Scottish Premiership was £1.9 million, with five profitable and seven loss-making clubs.

The Herald:

The clubs with the highest wages to turnover ratio.