Rangers: Former chairman David Murray expected to break silence on club’s turmoil

SIR David Murray’s office phone will have been red hot yesterday as the former Rangers owner digested the stunning news from Ibrox Park.

Murray, who sold the club for the token sum of £1 to Craig Whyte last May, always insisted he would place Rangers in the hands of a person he could trust to take it forward. During a complex and lengthy due diligence process Whyte and Murray met personally and remained in contact by telephone.

When the deal was done, Murray was relieved that the club was placed in the hands of a Motherwell-born businessman who was a Rangers fan. He felt Whyte, a previously unheralded venture capitalist, had proved he had the means to re-calibrate the finances of the Ibrox club. Indeed, Whyte signed a document confirming that this was so and that he was able to clear Rangers’ debts. Following the news that Whyte intends to place the club in administration, the picture has changed.

Murray is among those left distressed by the news, since it re-trains focus on his near-23 year reign and serves to also question his judgment. The former owner is understood to be set to break his silence on Whyte today. Whyte assured Murray that he would invest £5 million per season in the first team squad for the next five years. This was later placed in writing in a letter sent out to the club’s shareholders.

By this time, however, existing board members had already gone on record with their doubts, including Alastair Johnston, the club’s then chairman. Whyte was livid at the comments, and sacked Johnston and chief executive Martin Bain, among others. Now is the time for Murray to have his say, an opinion which may be the most significant of all.