Rangers administration: Efforts to secure club's future
Paul Clark, Duff and Phelps: Administration period "will give stability in order for club to move forward"
Administrators have begun efforts to secure the future of Rangers Football Club after the club entered administration.
The club appointed London firm Duff and Phelps after moves by HM Revenue and Customs to appoint its own administrator.Club owner Craig Whyte insisted Rangers would "come out stronger" and "always be here".
Duff and Phelps said it was seeking to ensure the ongoing survival of Rangers.
A day of drama on Tuesday saw HMRC lodge its petition seeking to appoint an administrator over alleged non-payment of about £9m in PAYE and VAT following Mr Whyte's takeover last year.
Massive debt On Monday, Rangers had signalled its intention to move towards administration, giving it 10 working days to outline an ongoing financial structure.
But after the HMRC response the club confirmed administrators had been appointed on Tuesday afternoon.
This immediately meant the docking of 10 points, effectively ending this season's Scottish Premier League challenge.
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“Start Quote
End Quote Craig Whyte Rangers ownerDue to its cost structure, the club has been loss making for many months”
Paul Clark and David Whitehouse,
from Duff and Phelps, took over the running of the Glasgow club as
joint administrators, while Rangers addresses its massive debt problems.
Rangers is awaiting a tax tribunal decision over a disputed
HMRC bill, plus penalties, totalling £49m, dating back to before the
Whyte era.It also has an ongoing operating deficit, as well as the alleged non-payment of £9m.
In a statement on the club's official website, Mr 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."
Survival 'risk' Joint administrator Mr Clark said: "We are working together with management and its major creditors, including HMRC, to achieve a solution to the financial problems which will ensure the ongoing survival of the business, which is of paramount importance to all concerned."
Mr Clark said that in the coming days the administrators hoped to get control of the finances of the club and better understand what needs to be done in the coming weeks.
Following Tuesday's legal case, a spokesman for HMRC said: "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."
If a creditors agreement cannot be reached as part of the administration process - and if the club cannot be sold - it is possible that Rangers could be wound up.
One former Rangers director has said he was willing to discuss a possible takeover of the ailing Glasgow club as part of a consortium.
Paul Murray told BBC Scotland he would consider approaching the administrators now running matters at Ibrox, but would not work with current owner.
Police payment Former Rangers owner Sir David Murray said he was "hugely disappointed" at the club's decision to appoint administrators and expressed surprise at the timing of the decision.
The secretary of the Rangers Supporters Club told the BBC the worst case scenario was liquidation, the loss of the club's name and the loss of its SPL place.
Sport Minister Shona Robison said the club's plight was "a concerning situation for everyone involved in Scottish football".
Meanwhile, Strathclyde Police said it had now resolved issues over payment for policing which may have affected Rangers home game against Kilmarnock on Saturday.
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