Shareholders at financial strugglers Airdrie Football Club have agreed to change their constitution to allow more private investment.

The likely saviour for the troubled First Division side could be former Scottish international Steve Archibald.

He has pledged to plough in up to £3m to save the club from the brink of closure.

Provisional liquidators were called into the Lanarkshire club last week after mounting debts became too much to handle.

Archibald meet with Blair Nimmo, the provisional liquidator and head of KPMG Corporate Recovery in Scotland, on Tuesday.

Problems came to a head when it was revealed that Rangers had arrested the club's share of the gate receipts for Sunday's Scottish Cup tie at Dundee United.

Debt called in

Ibrox chairman David Murray applied for an interdict, on behalf of his company Carnegie, for a debt of around £30,000 owed by Airdrie.

Archibald, who in his heyday played for Aberdeen, Spurs and Barcelona, says that if his rescue bid is successful he will use his contacts in Europe and South America to find new players.

He believes Airdrie is a sound business investment and he also sees it as the ideal opportunity to get the club moving on the football front.

Provisional liquidator, Blair Nimmo, who is head of KPMG Corporate Recovery in Scotland, said he was delighted Archidald had shown an interest.

The constitutional change was agreed on Monday night at the club's extraordinary general meeting and it now means that private investors can take a major role.

Up until now, no Airdrie shareholder has been allowed to own more than 10% of the shares.

Airdrie - lying second bottom in the division - were at the centre of recent takeover speculation amid reports that Motherwell chairman John Boyle wanted to acquire the Diamonds and create a bigger Lanarkshire club.