Rangers sale ‘vital’ according to administrators

Administrators have revealed they wish to sell Rangers FC in the next few days amid a “perilous financial situation”.

Duff and Phelps issued a statement today (Wednesday) as they battled to reach agreement with players over pay cuts.

The administrators revealed that talks to sell the club would take place in the next few days in order to avoid cuts that would “destroy the fabric” of the squad.

David Whitehouse, joint administrator, said: “We are announcing today we are accelerating the sale of Rangers Football Club.

“The club is in a perilous financial situation and that should not be under-estimated. Regrettably, we have been unable to agree cost-cutting measures with the playing staff on terms that will preserve value in the business. We understand the players’ position as the scale of wage cuts required to achieve these savings without job losses were very substantial indeed.

“In view of this, we are faced with a situation of making redundancies within the playing staff on such a scale that would materially erode the value of the playing squad. We are striving to strike a balance where cost-cutting measures can be implemented but do not destroy the fabric of the playing squad to the extent that it will inhibit the prospect of a sale.

“However, no one should be in any doubt that in the absence of sufficient cost-cutting measures or receipt of substantial unplanned income, the club will not be able to fulfil its fixtures throughout the remainder of the season.”

He added: “As a result, we are expediting the sale process and over the next few days we will be holding discussions with prospective purchasers who have declared their interest. The manager, Ally McCoist, will play an integral part in these discussions.”

“If however it becomes apparent that the sale process cannot be accelerated there will be no choice but to implement very severe cost cutting measures at the club.”