PETER Houston last night told supporters they would have a different opinion on keeping a newco Rangers out of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League if they knew exactly how their own club would suffer without them.

The Dundee United manager admitted some of his own team's fans would be angry with him for saying the top flight needed Rangers at all costs, despite the Ibrox club plunging into administration over millions of pounds of unpaid taxes. But he said United could not function at their current level without the £600,000-or-so a year they get from Rangers' participation, and claimed the same applied to several other clubs.

The 12 SPL clubs will today meet at Hampden to discuss the most divisive issue to face Scottish football for years. They will consider whether to impose new, tougher sanctions for clubs in administration and, crucially, for those which attempt to join the SPL as a newco after insolvency.

Fans of all other clubs have put enormous pressure on the SPL and their own chairmen to deny a newco Rangers immediate entry without severe sanctions. A newco is at the centre of American Bill Miller's plan to save Rangers. A vote was due to be held last Monday but the matter was deferred until today, although it is possible that some clubs will this morning seek a further postponement.

The issue has come to be seen as one of sporting integrity (the need to punish Rangers for benefiting from not paying taxes and other debts) versus financial imperatives (the value Rangers bring to the game from attendances and enhanced broadcasting and commercial deals).

Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston was heavily criticised for saying commercial benefits "may outweigh" sporting integrity, while United chairman Stephen Thompson admitted yesterday that chairmen were under enormous stress about what to do today.

His manager, Houston, said: "Personally I think we need to keep Rangers in the SPL. I don't care that fans will be upset with that. Being at the sharp end and knowing what is going on, with regards to budgets and what it could do to the SPL, we need a strong Rangers and Celtic. Supporters clubs across the country will probably disagree with me, but if they cut £600,000 from my budget I'd have almost nothing left. My chairman knows that. I'm being honest, every chairman has to be honest and think that football needs a strong Rangers and Celtic. Rangers have to be punished, I totally agree. How we punish them I don't know. But we couldn't drop Rangers into the third division."

No vote will be held on Rangers today as Miller is still some way from submitting a newco application, but the sanctions to be put in place – potentially a 10-point penalty for two seasons and/or a 75% loss of SPL income for three seasons – would apply from May 14.

Rangers would be handicapped by them if Miller's application comes in after that. If it is submitted earlier, or if no sanctions are today added to the rule book, then as things stand Rangers could theoretically play in the SPL as a newco next season without penalty. That could lead to boycotts from fans angered by a perceived leniency towards Rangers, while severe penalties could lead to boycotts from the Rangers support. Rangers cannot be demoted to the Scottish League but would have to apply for Division Three if the transfer of their SPL share to a newco was blocked.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion," said Thompson. "I am finding it very stressful, as are most of the board. We are in a very, very difficult situation and at a crossroads for Scottish football. I understand how fans feel and I have great sympathy for them. But I have a legal responsibility to run Dundee United and a legal responsibility as a director of the SPL. We've got to think about our own clubs and the whole of Scottish football. It is impossible. This season we got £1.4m from the SPL. If we only get £200,000-£300,000, how do we fill the £1m? Fans are talking about boycotts. It's a lose-lose situation. We've got to think about the fans: without fans you don't have a club. I am not wanting to show my hand because I am still mulling over everything."

The SPL rules are that its six-man board has to give approval if any club wants to transfer its share in the league to a new company (newco). The board consists of Thompson, Eric Riley (Celtic), Derek Weir (Motherwell), Steven Brown (St Johnstone), SPL chairman Ralph Topping and chief executive Neil Doncaster. Thompson will seek a rule change so that the vote on a newco Rangers is taken by all 11 other clubs.