Rangers chief executive Craig Mather today hit back at attempts to unseat him from the Ibrox board.

In an outspoken statement posted on the club website, he condemned the group of shareholders, including former Ibrox director Paul Murray,  who had demanded an extraordinary general meeting,

They put forward resolutions for the removal of Mather, finance director Brian Stockbridge, and Bryan Smart as directors of the company and the appointment of Paul Murray and Frank Blin as directors of the Company.

That move came only hours after Mather's predecessor, Charles Green, returned to Ibrox  as a consultant to the company to "promote the interests" of the Light Blues.

Today, Mr Mather told fans ahead of the team's League Cup match at Forfar: "Rangers Football Club is a 141-year-old institution built for success and along with the Board of Directors, I am determined to conduct business with honour, dignity and integrity. The men who created this great club would expect no less.

"During my time as a main investor and now as Chief Executive, I have learned about the club's rich history and proud traditions.

"So it is with deep regret that I find I must address the recent frenzy that has surrounded this great club.

"Again there are those attempting to bang down the doors simply because they feel they should be inside before any others and for no good reason other than self gain and arrogance.

"It doesn't matter to them that they have not invested or helped the club, or that they failed to make even a remotely credible attempt to save this fantastic club in its darkest hours.

"Not a single one of them stepped forward willing to invest their own money. Yet now they think they can waltz into the club.

"This club needs commitment and unity. It does not require the type of people who stood back and did nothing when Rangers were in trouble.

"Now, as Rangers has been climbing on to more solid ground and as the fans are heartened by what they've seen, these men emerge from the shadows with empty promises. They should be ashamed.

"It is surely no coincidence that they waited until the signs are positive and strong.

"Ally McCoist has enjoyed a positive pre-season programme, we have added eight new players to the squad to get Rangers back to the top flight and more than 34,000 supporters have bought season tickets for the new campaign.

"There was a positivity and excitement ahead of the new season and this was heightened by last weekend's victory and slick performance against Albion Rovers.

"It is therefore disappointing that once again we are distracted by non-football matters that do nothing but destabilise this club.

"Rangers fans are well aware that there have been various people trying to grab pieces of their club for years now and to force themselves into positions of power.

"However, all they have ever done and continue to do is have a negative effect when I and the other directors are trying to focus totally on taking Rangers back to the pinnacle of Scottish football.

"It is a difficult task and yet again we are seeing people attempting to make it impossible.

"But we will not be defeated, I certainly won't, and we will meet this latest ill-considered and ill-timed challenge head on.

"Let me stress that I, as Chief Executive, a position I am privileged and honoured to hold, and all of the other directors are firmly behind Ally McCoist and his team as we embark on stage two of our journey

"I urge all of our fans not to listen to rhetoric or empty promises and continue to support the manager and those of us who do genuinely have Rangers' best interests at heart.

"Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including Charles Green. But what I want to make clear is this: Backing the manager and the playing staff in their quest to restore Rangers' fortunes is critical to our ambitions.

"That and resolving to stand firm against anyone who would drag Rangers down in their selfish desire to promote themselves.

"This great club is bigger and more important than any of them, or any other individual."

Paul Murray was a director of oldco Rangers before Sir David Murray sold his majority stake to Craig Whyte and was outspoken in his opposition to the new owner.

He led the Blue Knights consortium that tried unsuccessfully to buy the club before Green's group were named preferred bidders and took control with a £5.5million purchase of the assets and business.

The shareholders' group also want to appoint Frank Blin as a director. He is the former executive chairman of accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and it is understood the dissenting group have lined him up to perform a forensic investigation of Rangers' finances if successful in their bid to install him to the board.

It is understood the action has come from a group of shareholders, including both Rangers fans and professional investors, who have "concerns over the corporate governance" at Ibrox and feel they have the best interests of the club at heart.

One shareholder, a London-based professional investor who is a season-ticket holder at Ibrox, said: "I want to know the costs inside Ibrox and know that they are under control.

"I would like to know exactly how much money Craig Mather is being paid, in fact I would like to know all the figures at Ibrox.

"The fans and investors deserve to know. The fans are the lifeblood of the club and they have been kept in the dark for too long.

"How much is Charles Green getting paid? And, if he's here to represent the shareholders, then what are the stockbrokers doing and are they on a retainer?"

The Byzantine power struggle follows a series of changes in the corridors of power since Green quit amid allegations of links with discredited former owner Craig Whyte at the time of his consortium's acquisition.

An independent investigation commissioned by the Rangers board subsequently found no evidence that Whyte had invested in the current Ibrox set-up.

The Yorkshireman was soon followed out of the door by ally and former commercial director Imran Ahmad, who left amid an investigation into leaks on the internet.

Malcolm Murray, who had a fractious relationship with Green, was replaced as chairman by Walter Smith in May before leaving the board last month along with Phil Cartmell.

On the same day, James Easdale, who had been involved in an official attempt to remove the pair, was appointed director and Rangers changed their nominated adviser and broker from Cenkos Securities to Strand Hanson.

Mather was soon confirmed as Green's permanent replacement after serving on an interim basis.