YOUR chief reporter, Jim Stark, who last week wrote a piece on the forthcoming cup tie between Cowdenbeath and Rangers, is a regular at Central Park so will be aware of another intriguing aspect to this game.

This season, Cowdenbeath have been wearing black socks with red tops with their home kit of blue tops and white shorts, the consequence of which is to make them look exactly like Rangers.

When I emailed the club to question this move away from Cowden's traditional sock colour after 137 years during which they have never worn black socks with red tops, I was given the frankly implausible explanation that this was done as a tribute to Cowdenbeath's mining heritage, rather than being down to the chairman Donald Findlay wanting the team to look exactly like his beloved Rangers.

There are only two senior clubs in the whole of Britain who have a first choice strip of blue top, white shorts and black socks with red tops and these are Rangers and Cowdenbeath so, Rangers tribute act or mining tribute? - you decide. Whatever the reason, hopefully Cowden will revert to blue socks for next season and look like themselves again.

So, we have the prospect of a team who are not Rangers playing in a Rangers strip against Rangers. Maybe Rangers could borrow our away strip to complete the confusion. Let's hope the Rangers fans at the game are able to tell who's who!

BRUCE McSHANE,

Lady Nairne Road,

Dunfermline.