Ibrox alarm bells ring ever louder

Having burned through tens of millions of pounds in recent years, they are now into their last seven figures. The decision in favour of former commercial director Imran Ahmad at the Court of Session on Friday, which backed his attempts to freeze £620,000 worth of Rangers' assets, leaves a beleaguered board staring down the barrel.

Ahmad will return to court later this year for his case itself to be heard. His claim that he is due £500,000 for work carried out during his short time at Ibrox, during which Charles Green ran the show and signed the deals, will be defended by Rangers.

In a bizarre statement on their website late on Friday evening, after they had already issued a response to the ruling made by Lord Stewart, the club said they agreed with the judge's assertion when he told the court: "This does not mean to say that insolvency is an actuality or is going to happen."

That may be the case, but it doesn't ease the fears of supporters, nor will it convince investors.

The Ahmad ruling, made just hours after director Sandy Easdale raised his head above the parapet once again, comes at a time when money is already in short supply at Ibrox. Having sold just 23,000 season tickets, and with potential pay-at-the-gate punters choosing to say away, the board face an increasing struggle to make ends meet.

It is a time of concern for supporters but also one of anger. Chief executive Graham Wallace refused to deny he will take his 100% bonus to top up his £315,000 salary and chairman David Somers described his £60,000 deal, for just two days work a month, as "poor".

The plans to raise £4 million through a new share offer amounts to a sticking plaster for a gaping wound, one that could be terminal for Rangers International Football Club plc. That money will barely scratch the surface of the problems at Ibrox, especially after George Letham, who reluctantly granted the board an extension to repay the £1m he is due, and Easdale, who is owed £500,000, have been squared up.

Attempts at raising serious cash have seen many doors knocked but few wallets opened in recent months but some investment will be forthcoming when the 19 million new shares hit the market. There will be shareholders who will see it as throwing good money after bad but it does present an opportunity for some, the Rangers Supporters Trust and Rangers First both confirming that they will participate in the offering.

That will see them increase their stakes but not their say and it will soon be time for the big guns to come to the front line. While Easdale has been on a charm offensive this week, Mike Ashley's influence continues to grow.

He controls all of Rangers' merchandise output, including the Ibrox Megastore and shops at Glasgow Airport and in Belfast, through his Sports Direct empire, but his attempts to increase his stake in the club have been met with a Scottish Football Association roadblock. As Rangers fans know all too well, however, where there is a will there is a way.

Ashley also has his finger on the nuclear button, the £1 deal he struck with Green for the naming rights to Ibrox able to be activated at any point.

There would be few tears on Tyneside if Ashley was to scale back his involvement with Newcastle United and Rangers fans are wary at the prospect of the billionaire becoming the biggest player in this saga for some time.

The only man who can trump him in that regard is Dave King. The former Ibrox director still has at least £30m on the table to invest in his boyhood heroes but timing is everything.

After a flurry of activity earlier this year, fans have become increasingly agitated and eager for King to play his hand but he will only do so on his terms.

It leaves a battered and bruised support again weary and worried. For some, it has all become too much. Others are still up for the fight and are readying themselves for more battles. Their war is some way from being won, however.