THE Rangers story has made its seemingly inevitable transition from Blue Knights to sleepless nights.

In recent weeks Rangers haven't exactly experienced anything which could be called a sense of security but, justifiably or not, there has been a tentative optimism around the place. Players slashed their wages to protect jobs, bidders emerged who wanted to take over from Craig Whyte, a fighting fund raised precious dough, some minor bills were paid off, they had the enjoyment of beating Celtic and basking in the nostalgia of the lucrative legends game. After Black February, and the shame of slipping into administration, March allowed the club to feel that it was rallying to save itself.

But this is April. And now there is a sense that Rangers are in the eye of the storm, a period of relative calm before the next wave of potentially catastrophic developments. It is now only a matter of weeks, perhaps days, before a verdict from the first-tier tax tribunal, which could leave them with a bill for £24m in unpaid taxes, £12m or so in compound interest and perhaps the same again in penalties – £49m is the hypothetical sum which has been widely reported for more than a year, and if anything close to that is confirmed it will still seem as shocking as being struck by lightning.

That "big tax case" verdict is the game changer, the potentially apocalyptic outcome which underpins the entire Rangers story and has administrators Duff & Phelps talking about liquidation more readily now than they did when they arrived on the scene a month ago. It would not be true to say that they ever discounted liquidation, but in their initial briefings back in February there was a breezy confidence about not having to go down that route. That no longer applies. Perhaps they suppressed the likelihood of liquidation in the hope of making the club seem more attractive to bidders. Now the very real prospect of liquidation "needs to be put out there", said Paul Clark.

Whyte used to be utterly dismissive of Rangers going into administration. And then it crept into his interviews, and then it was mentioned routinely, and eventually he plunged them into it. What's giving Rangers supporters panic attacks at the moment is that the same could be happening with liquidation. It's as though Duff & Phelps are trying to soften up their audience for the bad news which could be on its way. Some will try to interpret it optimistically, and claim that it will always be Rangers to them, even if the company itself is brand new, but that does nothing to change the fact liquidation would be a disgraceful end to the club in its current form. They are hugely vulnerable to that and not a single individual has held up his hands to take the slightest bit of blame for it.

Whyte has been emphatic about not being prepared to deal with Paul Murray, which gives the Blue Knights a huge headache. Club 9 Sports, the American bidders, are wide open to the idea of liquidating Rangers. The bid fronted in Singapore? How on earth can supporters trust a consortium which has told them absolutely nothing about who's involved, their motivations, or how much money they intend to invest?

It's pretty clear that the administrators haven't been bowled over by any of the bids. If they haven't been especially impressed by the amount of money on offer to pay off the debts – remember, Duff & Phelps' primary responsibility is to the creditors – what does that say about how much cash any of the bidders will devote to future funding?

For Rangers, the picture is bleaker today than it was on the day they fell into administration.

There was a time when Ross County weren't even a big deal in the Highland League. For those of us who first attended a game at Victoria Park in 1980 – when it had one ramshackle stand, one covered end and the rest was grass banking – the growth and transformation of this club has been truly remarkable. Even in Highland terms they used to be one of the also-rans, a wee club which won the league only three times in 65 years.

Going 28 league games in a row without defeat this season will be rewarded with promotion to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and continue the ascent of Derek Adams. Under him, County won promotion to the Irn-Bru First Division in 2008 and in each season he has completed there (either side of being assistant manager at Hibs) they've finished higher in the table. And there was, of course, that amazing run to the 2010 Active Nation Scottish Cup final.

Adams' team defeated Neil Lennon's in the semi-final and now the pair must be locked in another contest. When it comes to the manager of the year awards both the Scottish Football Writers' Association and the players' union, PFA Scotland, will have voted before the William Hill Scottish Cup final on May 19, which means it may not be clear if Celtic's season will yield one trophy or two. These early deadlines cause an annual problem, requiring decisions to be taken before the whole picture is visible.

If Celtic win a double then the manager of the year is Lennon. Otherwise County's domination of the First Division has been the season's outstanding achievement and Adams, still only 36, should get the recognition he deserves for it.