RANGERS administrators have not ruled out getting takeover bids from at least three more interested parties on top of the three already lodged.

It is hoped a Middle East consortium which has emerged as a new bidder may make a formal offer early this week.

But Duff & Phelps sources indicate that at least two other interested groups could still enter the fray.

And they say last Friday's deadline for prospective buyers of the club does not preclude anyone putting in an offer at the 11th hour, while they continue to resolve issues that it is feared might prevent sealing a deal.

Those still hovering include New York-based Fortress, described as an investment bank with current assets of £27 billion, which has expressed a definite interest.

Fortress Investment Group was set up as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wesley Edens, 51, and Robert Kauffman, 48, with Mr Edens said to have a personal fortune of £770 million.

Also still in the mix is a consortium from Singapore fronted by Glasgow-based businessman Shazad Bakhsh, who had been expected to make a formal bid last Friday.

Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy and the Blue Knights consortium led by former Rangers director Paul Murray both confirmed they had submitted takeover proposals on Friday, the loose deadline for first indicative bids set by administrators Duff and Phelps.

Chicago-based Club 9 Sports, who have seen investment offers for Sheffield Wednesday and Tranmere rejected, were also understood to have lodged a bid.

Duff and Phelps will continue today to seek a resolution at the Court of Session of the status of the Ticketus deal involving the sale of the rights to four years of season tickets for more than £20m to finance Craig Whyte's takeover of the club.

They believe it is an obstacle to finalising a sale, and want to break the deal so that the tickets are invalidated and Ticketus becomes an unsecured creditor alongside HMRC.

Rangers administrator Paul Clark said over the weekend: "There are parties that are keeping themselves to themselves and getting on with it."

Mr Clark added: "A new party appeared overnight on Thursday and they are speeding themselves along over the weekend and they expect to make a bid early next week.

"They're not people I have dealt with before. They appear to be a credible party and we'll see what their work over the weekend brings."

Duff & Phelps admitted on Friday offers were only indicative or conditional as all parties were looking for more clarity on complex issues.

These include the club's unresolved big tax dispute, a legal case with investment firm Ticketus over a season ticket deal, which resumes tomorrow in the Court of Session in Edinburgh, and the status of majority shareholder Craig Whyte.

Whyte bought an 85% stake in Rangers for £1 on the basis he would invest in the club, but administrators claim there is no evidence he put any money in.

"We've had ongoing discussions with Craig and, in fact, I met him earlier this week just to try to finalise some of these issues," Mr Clark said.

"I remain confident that Craig Whyte's position will not be an impediment to a sale."

Meanwhile, a judge has retrospectively appointed two insolvency experts as administrators at crisis-hit Rangers to correct an earlier flaw in the process.

Paul Clark and David Whitehouse of Duff and Phelps were originally brought in as joint administrators last month following financial problems at Ibrox.

But it was later discovered that it was invalid because the directors at Rangers did not obtain Financial Services Authority consent for the appointment as required.

Rangers returned to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to have the men made interim managers ahead of proceedings to rectify the position.

After a hearing today Lord Hodge said: "I will make an administration order in respect of Rangers Football Club plc being effective from 2.45 pm on February 14 and appoint Mr Clark and Mr Whitehouse to be joint administrators of the company."

The judge said he noted that no application was made for the expenses of the petition to have the administrators appointed retrospectively.

David Sellar QC, for Rangers, said: "The interests of the creditors would not be served by the confusion of potentially invalidating the steps that have already been taken in the purported process."