Rangers have never been far from a critical moment since falling into administration nine weeks ago, but the next 24 hours will be among the most pivotal in the club's history.

When Paul Murray sits down with Paul Clark and David Whitehouse of Duff & Phelps today, it will be to determine if the club can still exist in its current form. The horse-trading of recent days will come to a head.

By making details of his own £11.2 million bid public last week and insisting that he will wire the £500,000 exclusivity fee tomorrow, Bill Miller has set a deadline that will establish if Rangers are to be effectively liquidated or attempt to achieve a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that will bring them out of administration in their original form.

Murray's Blue Knights intend to work with the administrators to try to agree a CVA with the creditors. Their bid is £10m – funded by the group of Rangers-supporting businessman brought together by Murray – and the money is in place. The negotiations with Duff & Phelps centre on the £500,000 exclusivity fee the administrators seek for the preferred bidder status. It is an impasse that has constantly separated Duff & Phelps and the only bidder with any true likelihood of structuring a deal to buy the club.

The Knights want a guarantee that the administrators can deliver Craig Whyte's 85% shareholding, because the exclusivity fee is non-refundable. They face losing the money if Whyte refuses to co-operate; it is the equivalent of paying for a house without receiving the title deeds. Yet the Knights also recognise that this is a decisive point in their efforts. If they compromise, and the administrators make a similar gesture, a deal can be secured.

In private, the administrators concede that the Knights represent the best option for Rangers, but Miller's ultimatum was also timely for them. They claim to have exerted no influence on the American towing tycoon's announcement last Friday that he would complete his own offer tomorrow, but it effectively forced the negotiating process to come to a conclusion. Miller's bid has been treated seriously by the administrators, and at least one Scottish firm that is involved in football has worked on the American's behalf on the deal; they are convinced Miller represents a significant operator.

Yet his bid was full of contradictions, not least the ham-fisted attempt to distinguish between the newco option and a CVA. Miller's plan is to pay £11.2m for the assets, move them to a new shell company while leaving the original Rangers to try for a CVA, then picking up the shareholding later. Yet he even acknowledges in his own statement that this is unlikely. He also insists that his offer is conditional on written guarantees from the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football Association that no sanctions will be imposed on his newco Rangers. Neither organisation is even in a position to do this, let alone be minded to.

The administrators last night claimed that Miller has been in talks with the two governing bodies, yet the SFA claim no discussions have taken place. The SPL refused to confirm or deny the claims, although Neil Doncaster, the chief executive, is said to consider the American's proposals intriguing. It is hard to see beyond Miller's bid being little more than rhetoric – why wait the whole weekend to conclude it? – but it has forced the administrators and the Knights to find common ground.

The sticking point remains Whyte's shares. Yet the administrators say that Ticketus – the finance firm from which Whyte borrowed £27m to fund his takeover last year – can deliver his 85% stake in the club. Whyte has consistently claimed that he is personally liable for that loan, so a binding pledge from Ticketus that they will not pursue him for their money might be enough for the shares to be passed on.

Ticketus had agreed a deal with the Knights on repayment terms that were beneficial to Rangers, in return for the company removing itself from the creditors pot and so making a CVA more achievable. The company pulled out of that agreement nine days ago, just when the Knights were about to be named preferred bidder, and Ticketus then sought a better deal with Bill Ng, the Singapore businessman. When he withdrew from the race last week, it left Ticketus with only the Knights to turn to, or face trying to claim their money from Whyte through lengthy and costly legal action.

If the Knights are named preferred bidders tomorrow, Ticketus are expected to formally agree to the terms of their old agreement. Murray wants to conclude the deal quickly because nine players had clauses inserted in their contracts when they agreed to wage cuts and can all leave for reduced fees, while Neil Alexander and one other player can depart for nothing. Murray wants to renegotiate those clauses, by offering to repay the wages the players sacrificed.

Brian Kennedy remains in the background, but he will only bid if Murray fails to reach an agreement with the administrators.

Time is of the essence, but so too is purpose. The Knights could offer £11.3m, to trump Miller's bid and carry out the same plan as the American, which cuts out the need to receive Whyte's shares. But they are all Rangers supporters, and want the club to survive in its current form. That is what is at stake today.