Administrator offers Rangers hope

Paul Clark of Duff and Phelps, who was appointed joint administrator with David Whitehouse, promised to keep fans updated after holding a meeting with Rangers staff on Tuesday. The firm revealed Rangers were forced into administration over an unpaid tax bill of £9million - accrued since Craig Whyte's takeover in May last year.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs forced the issue amid a legal battle in the Court of Session in Edinburgh, although Rangers won the right to appoint their preferred administrators. The unpaid £9million comes on top of two historical tax disputes, the bigger of which could cost the club £75million, according to Whyte.

But Clark believes Rangers can emerge in better shape from the process. He told Rangers TV: "We had a staff meeting here at Ibrox a short time ago and that was very well attended, I think we had the vast majority of the staff able to attend.

"We will be conducting regular meetings with the staff and, wherever we can, will keep giving messages to the fans who we know have an interest in the work that we are doing.

"I can't give any firm commitment but certainly over the next day or two we hope to get control of the finances of the club and to better understand what we need to do in the coming days and weeks. The club had been in such a period of uncertainty that the administration will actually relieve that uncertainty and start to build the future."

Whyte admitted the club had been running at a loss for some time, resulting in the "regrettable" outcome of administration, which has left Rangers 14 points behind SPL leaders Celtic.

In a statement on the club's official website, Whyte said: "Due to its cost structure, the club has been loss making for many months. This situation has resulted in increasing liabilities and the club has been in discussion with HMRC regarding these liabilities.

"These liabilities combined with the threat of the outcome of the first-tier tax tribunal left the club no option but to formally restructure its financial affairs."

An HMRC statement read: "We can't discuss specific cases for legal reasons but tax that has been deducted at source from the wages of players and support staff such as ground keepers and physios, must be paid over to HMRC. Any business that fails to meet that basic legal requirement puts the survival of the business at risk."