Rangers administration: ‘It was never going to be easy’, Craig Whyte tells fans

Speaking from Monaco, Rangers’ owner promised to return to Glasgow “very soon” and reiterated that he would not be “walking away” from the beleaguered football club, despite widespread criticism of his governance.

He said he had been a “stand-up guy” since taking over the Ibrox club last year, and emphasised that administration was unavoidable.

He said: “Although we’re going through a very, very painful process at the moment for all Rangers fans, it’s a process that is absolutely necessary and we will come out the other side of this as a stronger, more sustainable business.

“You cannot have a business that loses £10 million to £15m every year and requires that level of funding just to keep the lights on. You need to have business that can live within its own resources and that is what we’re doing with Rangers.

“It was never going to be an easy job. It’s a huge challenge, I took that challenge on, I’m not walking away from it. I don’t walk away from anything. I’m in regular contact with the administrators, I’m working as hard as I can to help resolve the issues and make sure that Rangers comes out the other side of this.”

Mr Whyte denied any funds had gone missing from Rangers.

He said: “There are no missing millions, there’s been some outrageous and malicious reporting, particularly in the Scottish media. I can assure Rangers fans that every penny has been accounted for and will be accounted for.”

He said that while he was not aware of how impending redundancies would impact on the club, “there will be more pain,” although administrators Duff & Phelps were “acting in the best long-term interests” of Rangers.

Mr Whyte added: “I’d hope to be in Glasgow very soon, I can’t put a specific date on it. I’ll be back in London in a couple of days and getting on with the job at hand.”