Rangers ‘has a cancer in it’

John Brown doesn't believe Rangers' woes will end with Ally McCoist's resignation. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The Light Blues’ board finally confirmed that McCoist had given 12 months’ notice of his intention to quit on Monday morning after a weekend of speculation.

The club issued a 7am statement to the London Stock Exchange in which they said they now planned to hold talks with McCoist. They also confirmed the manager’s salary would rise to £750,000 for his final year of employment.

Reports over the weekend suggested the 52-year-old was quitting in a bid to shift the focus away from his performance as boss and back on to the way the Glasgow giants are being run.

But Brown - who was in the same Gers team as McCoist which won nine successive titles - insists Rangers will continue to suffer so long as the likes of Sandy Easdale and Mike Ashley are calling the shots behind the scenes.

The former Dundee boss said: “Ally McCoist has given fans so many happy memories over the seasons as a player and in the recent times where he has given them back-to-back promotions.

“He’s had to put up with so much. He’s had no support. The Easdales and others should hold their heads in shame.

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“But I honestly couldn’t care what the fans are thinking about performances. Their club has a cancer in it and it needs to get cut out.

“People need to wise up. Changing the manager is not going to change the situation. Until the Rangers fans realise that, their club is going to be in a sorry, sorry position.”

Some of the financial figures since the club was reformed in 2012 have been astonishing.

It was announced earlier this year that almost £70 million had been spent in the first two years following the club’s liquidation meltdown. This year’s accounts, released last month, show another £8.3 million loss and that the club requires a similar sum just to survive until the end of the financial year.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley - who also holds a nine per cent stake in the Light Blues - has given the club a £3 million loan but Brown is alarmed at the way the money is being spent.

This year’s accounts show that former chief executive Graham Wallace earned £378,000 from the day he joined the company on November 20, 2013, until the end of June, almost half of which was a bonus. Wallace also earned a £100,000 pay-off when he quit in October.

Former finance director Brian Stockbridge, who left halfway through the season, earned £218,000. The club also stated that Stockbridge earned a £216,000 severance package.

Another former chief executive, Craig Mather, received a £350,000 severance deal while ex-director Philip Nash made £131,412 in consultancy fees in the first six months of this year.

Meanwhile, around 10 backroom employees were made redundant last month.

Brown said: “Ashley has upped his shareholding in recent weeks and brought people in. But then we have seen people with a long service at Rangers, 40 years and more, being shown the door.

“All the players know who these folk are - they were part of the family. So when you see that happening so know that things are ultimately just going to end in tears again.

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Rangers ‘has a cancer in it’ - John Brown