AS late as last night, the location was was unknown, the number of participants uncertain.

It eventually became clear that Ally McCoist, without or without an adviser, will travel to Ibrox this afternoon for talks with members of the board. Whether Derek Llambias, the Rangers director, is present with David Somers, the chairman, or Sandy Easdale, the football board director, one matter is certain: the final hours are being counted on the tenure of McCoist as manager of Rangers.

Those who know McCoist mischievously insist there is another certainty: the Rangers manager will be late given that his disregard for punctuality is such that he has only ever appeared in the penalty box at the right moment.

The one unknown is how a club with no money pays off a manager who seems to have a copper-bottomed right to compensation under a contract negotiated more than three years ago and recently amended. The Herald understands that the contract triggers a fee on McCoist's resignation or dismissal. He submitted said resignation last Thursday.

There were differing views last night to what precisely he may be entitled to with one reliable source insisting that a payout of more than £1m could be due. Others claim that the sum owed is perhaps a third of that.

All this may be somewhat academic given that Rangers have a financial deficit so crippling the club almost qualifies for an emergency Christmas crisis loan.

The imperative for both sides in this extraordinary situation is to extricate themselves from this mess with as little money being involved a possible. It is obvious why this would be a priority for Rangers. They need £8m to survive, paying off McCost and his staff could cost in excess of £1m, and they would have to hire replacements at, say, a further annual cost of £500,000.

The only benefactor in town is Mike Ashley who is facing SFA charges for a having too much influence at the club. Another, say, £12m loan would not only test the patience of the football authorities but the resilience of Mr Ashley who is not a man who is famed for chucking money down a well.

But why should McCoist agree to walk away with less than he may be due, less than he could expect? He is prepared for a campaign that may present him as less than the happy-go-lucky, free-scoring Rangers legend and McCoist, at 52, has been at the business end of Glasgow football long enough to be impervious to such moves. However, he may just be protective of his standing at the club.

A supportive message from the Union of Fans, an umbrella group of Rangers supporters, this week contained a highly significant paragraph. It read: ''We hope Ally will do the right thing and come to a solution that is beneficial to both him and club. We hope Ally can go with our best wishes and will remain Super Ally long after the names of the charlatans in this boardroom are mercifully forgotten."

The club in this instance referred to the institution rather than the board. It was an allusion to what fans see as McCoist's responsibility in what has become a situation that borders on the intractable. Does McCoist want to drag the club through the courts? No. Can the board twist Mr Ashley's arm for a sizeable donation to the manager's leaving sheet? Probably not.

So how do Rangers and McCoist come to an agreement that protects the very existence of the club while satisfying the employee's right to just compensation? The answer, of course, may lie in a reduced payout that could be delayed until better times, though there is not even a glimmer of those sunny days on the farthest of horizons.

More intriguingly, it could lie in the matter of shares. McCoist owns, at least, just under 3% of the club in the share issue of December 2012. He may have bought more subsequently. Could an agreement be brokered over shares? Could McCoist be also favoured with preferential treatment in a future shares issue? Indeed, could the matter of shares be the way out of a fraught situation for both club and manager?

It would allow McCoist to avoid any charges of ''bleeding'' the club. It would mean, too, he retains an element of power at Ibrox. It would also mean he would have the capacity, if he so wished, to donate the shares to fans' groups. This option would have the dual benefit of protecting his status as a club legend while also providing a little more aggravation to a board that faces a turbulent week and an uncertain long-term future.

McCoist is not the most crucial issue facing the club but he is the most immediate. A deal must be reached ahead of the annual general meeting next week. A long goodbye is an option that must be avoided.