FORMER Rangers director Paul Murray is masterminding a bid to take over the crisis-torn club.
Mr Murray – who described yesterday as "possibly the darkest day in the club's history" as it was plunged into administration – is trying to put together a consortium to take ownership away from Craig Whyte.
The chartered accountant – who is not related to former owner Sir David Murray – says he plans to meet the club's administrators with other interested parties.
Mr Murray told The Herald: "What I would say to Rangers fans is that now is the time for all who have an interest in the club to come together and provide an alternative to the Craig Whyte option. That is something I will be putting my mind to in the coming days."
The rescue plan came as fans registered their disgust as newly appointed administrators Duff and Phelps revealed the Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions had run up debts of £9 million in PAYE and VAT to HMRC in the nine months since Whyte took over at Rangers in May, 2011. Club sources say they are disputing about half of the bill.
The shock new tax demand comes as the club awaits the result of a tribunal over its use of Employee Benefit Trusts to former players. Experts believe the final bill from the case could be as high as £49m, including interest and penalties, though Whyte said on Monday it could be as much as £75m.
Insolvency experts believe that the administration route will help to wipe the losses clear at the expense of creditors – including HMRC – who are likely to get a fraction of what they are owed.
The Ibrox club was yesterday deducted 10 points by the Scottish Premier League – effectively handing the title to rivals Celtic – after appointing its own preferred administrators. It came after HMRC lodged a petition at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to put Rangers into administration, 24 hours after the club filed notice of its intention.
Whyte, who last night boarded a flight from Glasgow to London, said he had "no option" as the club had been losing money for months.
Administrator Paul Clark, of Duff and Phelps, said: "I can't give any firm commitment but certainly over the next day or two we hope to get control of the finances of the club and to understand better what we need to do in the coming days and weeks.
"We are working together with management and its major creditors including HMRC to achieve a solution to the financial problems which will ensure the ongoing survival of the business, which is of paramount importance to all concerned."
However, Mr Murray, 47, who was deposed from the board after Whyte's takeover in May, said it was now time to "find a solution" to try to keep the club alive. He added: "I think firstly it is a hugely sad day for the club. It is almost hard to take in.
"From my point of view, the fundamental question Rangers fans have to ask is, on the assumption Craig Whyte is trying to buy the club back, whether he is a fit and proper person to own the club.
"After all that has been written about him, this is a guy who was disqualified as a company director in the past decade, and that wasn't disclosed at the time of the takeover, secondly he was forced to admit he sold £24.4m of season tickets after documentation was released. Finally, as recently as last week he was described by a sheriff as 'wholly
unreliable' after giving evidence in court.
"The question is, do you want to put this guy into the club's history books alongside the likes of Bill Struth, John Greig and Walter Smith. In my opinion the answer is no."
Mr Murray, who advised the previous board on business development, tried to piece together a bid two years ago, with a consortium that included non-executive directors Dave King, the club's second-biggest shareholder, and businessman Douglas Park.
But the rescue package was rejected by Lloyds, the club's previous biggest debtor, which felt they were trying to get Rangers at a knockdown price.
Mr Murray said: "A more sustainable structure is about having a widespread ownership with different people involved and with a proper board of directors, proper chairman and proper governance.
"I made that proposal before and for various reasons it wasn't accepted and the club was sold to Craig Whyte."
He added the first step was to meet the administrators and understand the scale of the club's liabilities and debt.
"This is not all about Paul Murray, it's about anyone who has an interest in the club to come forward. This is possibly the darkest day in the club's history, and we have to step forward now and effectively try to rescue it. I love the club and I think there are other people in a similar boat who want to save it."
Andy Kerr, president of the Rangers Supporters Assembly, said any new model for Rangers should include involvement of supporters on the board. He said: "For the supporters to get behind anything new, they will need to have their confidence regained. When you hear what has happened since Mr Whyte took over, it erodes confidence. It is ominous. Because you just wonder, what next?
"The supporters have a significant stake in the club, but we don't have a stake in the governance of the club and we should have."
Rangers in crisis
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