OUSTED Rangers chief executive Charles Green could not ultimately survive a shift in the balance of power at Ibrox.

The positions of Mr Green and his commercial director Imran Ahmad were discussed at length by the directors last Saturday morning in a three-hour board meeting at the club's training ground, Murray Park in East Dunbartonshire.

There was not enough support around the table for Mr Green and Mr Ahmad to be forced out. However, there was an agreement to commission an independent examination of media stories concerning last summer's takeover and their "management" of the club.

That independent examination was formally started yesterday by the accountancy firm Deloitte, but Mr Green's future was all but sealed by then.

At least one director changed his position on Mr Green, and the chief executive tendered his resignation. It is likely Mr Ahmad will follow in the coming days.

Neither man could survive his association with Craig Whyte, even if they could justify their dealings last year with the explanation they were stringing the former owner along to ensure he would sell his shareholding in the event of a company voluntary arrangement being agreed to take Rangers Football Club plc out of administration.

That did not happen, and Mr Whyte has cast doubt on the validity of the sale of the business and assets to Sevco Scotland.

He claims to have been a director, along with associate Aiden Earley and Mr Green, of Sevco 5088, the company that had an exclusivity agreement to buy the club from the administrators Duff & Phelps last year.

The failure to be fully open and transparent with supporters about those dealings allowed Mr Whyte leverage. He has used it in recent weeks, drip-feeding stories and recordings to certain sections of the media.

Mr Green and Mr Ahmad have suffered from the perception they were capable of colluding with such a deceitful character as Mr Whyte.

There is no suggestion Mr Whyte has any involvement with the club now, but there have been other strategic errors.

Mr Green sought to undermine the club's manager, Ally McCoist, by trying to oust his two assistants, Kenny McDowall and Ian Durrant. He also sacked the chief scout, Neil Murray, after an investigation that delivered no evidence Mr Murray had done anything untoward.

Some in the boardroom were concerned that without a chief scout, and with the chief executive handling all contract negotiations, there was no check on transfer dealings.

In truth, Mr Green has lost a battle of wills with the chairman, Malcolm Murray. There was a clash of personalities between the two: Mr Green is a brash, plain-speaking Yorkshireman, whose public statements were often unguarded and overblown, while Mr Murray is a quiet, reserved individual who believes the club's business should be conducted privately.

Under Mr Green's stewardship, Rangers raised £22.2 million when it was floated on the Alternative Investment Market last December. That, and the sense of him being a crusader on behalf of Rangers, won over the fans, but there have been growing concerns, particularly after he said in a newspaper interview that he occasionally calls Mr Ahmad his "little P*ki friend".

With season ticket sales crucial to the club's ability to continue rebuilding, any allegations around Mr Green and Mr Ahmad's associations with Mr Whyte were damaging, while it was clear the relationship with the manager had broken down.

Mr McCoist and non-executive director Walter Smith retain the most powerful influence over the mood of the fans.

Mr Green remains major shareholder of Rangers, owning 7.68% of the club, and he is bound to a lock-in agreement. However, these can generally be overcome.

The share price has been falling steadily, and may decrease further, but there is a cash reserve just now, which may encourage a move now rather than in 12 or 24 months.

For now, the focus of the remaining board members – Mr Murray, finance director Brian Stockbridge, and non-executives Smith, Ian Hart, Bryan Smart and Philip Cartmell – is to begin the process of appointing a new chief executive.

There is a potential interim candidate in Craig Mather, the director of sports development who also owns a successful packaging company.

Another contender may be Gordon McKie, the former chief executive of the Scottish Rugby Union.

He was in line for the post had The Blue Knights' takeover bid last summer been successful.