Rangers fans would like Mike Ashley to make his intentions for the club clear.

Any such position statement from the notoriously reticent SportsDirect billionaire is highly unlikely, however.

While he does not give many interviews, the Newcastle United owner does at least have a track record for being relatively transparent in his dealings. With more than five years of shady manoeuvrings at the Ibrox club, this in itself is welcome.

Ashley's admirers say he will also bring security and financial stability to Rangers. But that is far from achieved yet. The £2 million loan that effectively delivered him control of the club will stave off imminent administration, but will not be enough to solve the deep-rooted problems at Ibrox. There will be more cash needed, and perhaps more turmoil to come.

Former chief executive Graham Wallace left the club yesterday, having tried and failed to make the necessary savings, while having to work with a divided board.

Mr Ashley is able to bring in his own man, Derek Llambias, who will have to move to rein in the costs that have driven Rangers to the brink once again. Mr Llambias will have his work cut out, as the Glasgow club has contractual obligations, many of which he can only work around.

He will also have to strike a balance between ensuring that the club is financially viable, and also that the team can make progress to the Scottish Premier League. Mr Ashley is likely to need to inject further sums. Yet he may still feel he is getting good value, with control of a potentially huge brand and a cultural institution coming for the price of just one decent player in the English Premier League. For while his motives may be unclear, it is likely that his ambitions for Rangers tally with those of its supporters.

He is known to want to expand his SportsDirect brand into Europe and controlling a team able regularly to compete in the Champions League Group stages would help. Rangers offer an easier route to that competition on a regular basis than Newcastle. Only authorised sponsors of football's showpiece competition can advertise at televised matches but the associated opportunities would be lucrative enough in terms of brand promotion.

However Mr Ashley's stake in Newcastle is a barrier to his taking over Rangers in the traditional sense.

Bringing in Mr Llambias keeps him on the right side of the Scottish Football Association, although the SFA has been made to look largely irrelevant while Mr Ashley wrested ascendancy in Govan. But the set-up is not ideal for the fans, who would like to see more accountability, not less, at the club.

Rangers remain an important cultural and economic force in Glasgow and Scotland. Yet this is a club running out of last chances.

Leeds United is another formerly great club that lurched into financial crisis. That has so far lasted 12 years and is still playing out.

Rangers cannot risk a similar scenario and Mr Ashley is in many ways their only hope.