The owner in waiting: Green says his piece

What is your reaction to HMRC blocking the CVA?

"It is very disappointing. To read in [joint administrator] Paul Clark's statement today that HMRC are saying this is a policy decision: is it a policy from HMRC that came out this morning? If this has always been their policy why didn't they tell us this in February and March and save a lot of money and a lot of time? There are a lot of Rangers fans who have had their hopes built up for nothing. If this was a policy I would have expected HMRC to say to Deloitte [Green's own financial advisors] 'you are wasting your time, we have a policy against CVAs, we're not going to do it'."

Some insolvency experts have been predicting this for months. Are you saying you didn't see this coming?

"Not at all. If we had known this then my group – and forget about the effect that it's had on Duff & Phelps and their time and people – if we had known in March that this was HMRC's policy then the minute Bill Miller withdrew and we became the preferred bidder we would have just gone down the newco route. I spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on fees for professionals for a deal that could never have happened."

You are now being seen as the guy who took Rangers into liquidation, or who couldn't put together a realistic CVA package to keep them out of it . . .

"Neither of those things are fair. What I've said consistently is that the approval of the CVA would be purely down to HMRC and Ticketus; no other groups could have voted it down. I can only be responsible for the things I have control over. But I never said I could deliver a CVA; that was always down to HMRC and Ticketus. I would urge everyone to lobby to see if we can get this ridiculous decision overturned, because it cannot be in the best interest of taxpayers. It cannot be."

HMRC say liquidation allows them to pursue former owners?

"I understand the logic of not doing deals with people who have failed to pay tax and have made these problems. But that is not my group. We haven't failed to pay tax. I could understand this decision if Craig Whyte was here or if David Murray was here, who initiated the original problem. I would understand that and I would think it was right and proper. But not keep us all on the hook for three or four months nearly and then deliver this two days before the meeting."

Some of your weekend comments about 19 transfer targets and a £30m share issue could have antagonised HMRC. That might have blown any chance of delivering the CVA . . .

"Then they are stupid, the HMRC, if they think that. If I wanted to go and sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and pay them the salaries they get paid, 50% of what I pay them goes back on PAYE so that could be the best news HMRC could have. They would recouping PAYE and NIC at huge levels. Or we can pay non-league football paying £300 every week, who don't pay 50% tax, and how much are they going to make out of that?"

Can someone else challenge the newco takeover agreement you have with Duff & Phelps?

"I was criticised weeks ago because no-one had ever heard of me; I came in at the last minute and appeared from nowhere. Well, now people are saying 'have I got the chance to bid?'. But everyone had the chance to bid for this company from February 14 until May 13 when I was given exclusivity, whether it was Blue Knights, Bill Miller, Uncle Tom Cobley or a host of other people who had approached the administrator. No-one had either put a credible deal on the table, signed a cheque or could complete. We are always wise after the event and some smart guy might want to come along, but all that does is put the fans in limbo again. As far as we're concerned we have a binding contract with Duff & Phelps in the event of the CVA being turned down."

A newco means three years without European football. what does that do for your business plan?

"We knew what the consequences were and what the opportunities were. Let's not gloss over things. At the moment, if the CVA does fail, and it is looking as if it will on HMRC's current position, then we are not even in the SPL. Forget about playing in Europe, we might not even be playing in Glasgow . . ."

Even some Rangers fans feel the club should take the punishment and drop to the third division. Is that an option or will you apply to the SPL?

"If you take it to the nth degree then you would need approval for Division Three and there wouldn't even be a guarantee of that. My view is that anyone who creates a crime like this club did has to have punishment, I've always said that. Whether it's my backside that gets kicked or someone else's is an issue, but unfortunately it's mine that's here and the others have disappeared. So we have to take some punishment. But I believe that what's important for not only Rangers but Scottish football is that we start putting all these issues behind us and move forward."

What's the situation with player contracts in a newco? Is it true they can all leave for free?

"TUPE regulations are very, very clear. We were notified by HMRC this morning and we immediately called a meeting of the staff; obviously all the non-playing staff who weren't on holiday were brought into that. We explained where we are likely to go. Players with their families abroad or on tournament duty couldn't be there. Newco will have TUPE regulations and we would expect that all of the employees, including the players, would transfer into newco."

Can you be sure of that?

"No. You can't be sure of that. While under TUPE regulations we are obliged to take up on all of the contracts, obviously someone may decide that they don't want to be part of the newco. But at that point they would be in breach of contract."

Have you spoken to Ally McCoist?

"Ally has been with us since about 7.30 this morning; he came back from Portugal [where he was holidaying]. He has been with us, he attended the staff meeting and he has been with me in meetings with the lawyers this afternoon."

Is it true that you lost a major investor at the weekend and you don't have money to fund the club?

"Let's stop these rumours running around. Last week it was said I didn't have any money to buy the club and I was using season-ticket money. Then I explained that I had paid the administrators the money required in the contract; how could I have done that when I haven't even put season-tickets up for sale? The next thing being said is that when I buy it, I don't have money to run the club. In a month's time, when I've dealt with that myth, I'll be accused of not having enough money to buy Lionel Messi. The reality is that every time someone comes up with something it's proved to be rubbish."

You are being slaughtered on fans' messageboards. People see you as the villain of the piece . . .

"I didn't expect to be getting it in the neck and I don't accept that at any stage I'm the villain of the piece. If I wasn't here there would be no-one buying this football club. All the bidders disappeared. So what fans and the media and everyone has to understand – and I keep saying it – is that if there's someone out there now who wants this club and can do a better job than we're doing, then turn up tomorrow morning, sign a cheque, we'll go out the door and they can take over. Let's go back to the idea of a wedding reception: unless anyone can say otherwise, hold your peace."

How would you describe what has happened today?

"It's a sad day for the club, for the fans. After what they have been through in the past few years, to get to this stage . . . HMRC have got a lot to answer for."