Vladimir Romanov declared his stance yesterday, when he said "[the Ibrox side has] lived beyond law and all morals, and should now be declared beyond the pale", while United also released a statement late last night after meeting supporters' groups.
"Following a robust and constructive meeting, the club's position on how we will vote was substantiated by the viewpoint of the various supporters groups," read the statement. "The meeting finished with all in agreement as to what the correct course of action would be.
"The board are unequivocal in the belief that a form of sporting punishment must form part of the reasoning behind any decision made and, therefore, cannot vote the newco into the SPL. General sporting integrity and, more importantly, the integrity of Scottish football, must also play a significant part in the decision-making process. It is our belief that any form of sporting punishment must be unambiguous in the message it displays."
Earlier, Motherwell had announced that they will base their decision on the wishes of members of the Well Society, effectively allowing fans to determine how the club will vote. Herald Sport understands that St Johnstone have privately indicated they will follow the lead of Hearts and United when the SPL clubs meet on July 4, while Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibernian are all also expected to vote no, which leaves Rangers unlikely to receive enough backing to remain in the SPL, since they require eight yes votes.
This would appear to add growing weight to the notion that the clubs believe a deal can yet be struck with the Scottish Football League for Rangers to be accommodated in the first division, so limiting the cost to top-flight clubs.
Romanov, though, remained typically scathing and unconventional in his observations yesterday. "The football mafia represented by the former owners of Rangers FC and Rupert Murdoch's media are to blame for some of the worst problems to hit Scottish football and must not be allowed back in under any circumstances," insisted the Russian-born Lithuanian, whose club may not receive the full fee owed to them by Rangers for Lee Wallace.
"As regards the club itself, we can only express our deepest condolences to its supporters, who have been lied to for so many years. Victories were achieved not by sporting merits, but through slander, conspiracies among players and their poaching via third parties, unfair pressuring of referees, who in themselves are as valuable to the fabric of football as the football stars themselves. All of this brought hollow victories and destroyed football.
"There is a saying about digging a grave for someone: you get it for yourself. Without these people, football will become cleaner and stronger."
Romanov also had strong words to say about the Sky broadcasting contract, the majority of which is received by Rangers and Celtic for finishing in the top two of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. He also appeared to back the idea of a standalone SPL TV channel, which has previously been mooted for the top-flight.
"As regards the pitiful state of Scottish football finances, a lot of the blame should be placed at the doors of Murdoch's media," he said. "They pay huge sums to English clubs, while in Scotland, where football is better supported per capita than anywhere else in Europe and there are more cable or Sky subscribers per capita than in England, clubs receive peanuts for broadcasting rights.
"I feel that it is absolutely realistic to create a company that would bring to Scottish clubs at least the same broadcasting income, and even grow it by 50-100% over the next two to three years. This company should be in the hands of Scottish clubs and work with those who want to earn money the honest way."
Motherwell also made a statement following a board meeting yesterday at which the directors decided to allow fans to determine how the club will vote on July 4. With the Fir Park side moving towards full supporter ownership, they felt it was in keeping with their plans to allow fans this responsibility.
"The decision-making on 'Newco' is rendered extremely difficult by the complexity of the potential scenarios and the uncertainty around the likely financial implications," the statement read. "We are increasingly of the view that the uncertainties around the financial implications are substantial and negative under all likely scenarios.
"It is our view that in the face of this we will be best placed if we live by the spirit of the model we are seeking to achieve. We will, therefore, hold an independently audited ballot to determine which way the club votes."
Inverness Caledonian Thistle will also take into account the views of their fans before deciding how to vote. "It is fair to say those who say that Rangers have been punished sufficiently are an extremely small minority of all the representations received," said the chairman Kenny Cameron.
While Kilmarnock have announced that they have sold more season tickets than at this stage last season, 1000 more than last season's total would be required to cover the costs of Rangers not being in the top flight. "This is good news and while the majority of renewal applications are still to be received, it is encouraging that, despite the level of uncertainty currently surrounding the SPL, so many of our supporters have already signed up for next season," said Michael Johnston, the Rugby Park club's chairman.
