Rangers administrators reveal potential buyers

The administrators running Rangers admitted yesterday to "concerns" at the way the club has been run since Craig Whyte took over last May. Although employee wages have been taxed at source as normal in that time, no PAYE or VAT has been paid to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and David Whitehouse, of Duff and Phelps, said this was "not common practice".

Whitehouse and his co-administrator, Paul Clark, are investigating the club's finances, but stressed that Rangers had been forced to appoint them because it was loss-making, and that £9m of unpaid taxes had been used to fund running costs.

Despite the financial problems, the two men have been contacted by a number of parties about the prospect of buying the club, despite Rangers facing a potential separate tax bill of around £50m. They also stressed that they believe that Rangers will not be forced out of business.

"We have had several expressions of interest and these will be examined," Clark said. "We are hopeful that a Company Voluntary Agreement can be achieved. In layman's terms, we believe it is possible to achieve a solution – subject to the agreement of creditors. We don't think that liquidation is likely."

The administrators addressed the playing staff yesterday morning, and although redundancies are "not inevitable", an employee review will take place. No decisions will be made until next week, but the manager, Ally McCoist, will be consulted on any changes to the playing squad.