Rangers savings allow them to finish season
Reuters - Friday 09 March 2012, 20:36
Rangers have agreed a raft of
cost-cutting measures which will allow them to fulfil their
fixtures for the rest of the Scottish Premier League season,
administrators Duff and Phelps said on Friday.
The Glasgow club went into administration last month over
nine million pounds in unpaid payroll and sales
taxes.
The plight of Rangers, champions a world record 54 times,
has sent shockwaves through British football where many clubs are
struggling to make ends meet.
Players at the stricken club have now agreed to take
temporary wage cuts of between 25 and 75 percent for the next
three months in order to save one million pounds per month, Duff and Phelps partner Paul Clark told a news
conference.
Midfield pair Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik will leave the
club at their own request while manager Ally McCoist and his
backroom staff have also agreed temporary wage reductions to
prevent widespread job losses on the non-playing side.
"The agreement on very substantial wage reductions and
voluntary departures from the club represents a major
sacrifice," said Clark.
"The discussions have been lengthy and by no means easy for
anyone involved but the most important objective in all of this
process has been to achieve an outcome that will help save the
club.
"There are a small number of matters still to be dealt with
over the weekend but we do not believe these will be
insurmountable," added Clark.
"The players deserve great credit and we are in no doubt
this agreement is the best way to achieve the necessary cost
savings to ensure the continuing operations of the club."
Rangers also face a larger tax bill of 50 million pounds
relating to the use of trusts to pay players over the past
decade.
The club are part of the fabric of Scottish society, their
bitter rivalry with city rivals Celtic illustrating the divide
between Protestants and Roman Catholics in the country.
HEAVY PRICE
"We fully recognise the football staff are paying a very
heavy price for the greater good," said Clark.
"It is to their eternal credit the players and management
have sought to find a solution that helps protect the fabric of
the club.
"We are especially grateful to Ally McCoist who has put the
interests of the club, his players and the staff first and
foremost at all times."
The wage cuts do not, however, eliminate the continuing
threat to Rangers's long-term future.
"We should be absolutely clear this club is in a perilous
financial situation," said Clark. "If substantial cost reduction
could not be achieved the club would not survive until the end
of the season.
"Administration is never a painless process and it is
imperative if the club is to survive that the business trades
viably through the period of administration."
Clark said the cost savings would make it easier to attract
a new Rangers owner.
"The prospect of someone buying the club remains our prime
objective," he said. "There are several interested buyers and we
have had discussions with them.
"We have given a deadline of next Friday so we will have a
better idea where we are later next week. The wage cuts are
temporary and until the end of the season but they have given us
breathing space."
A consortium called the Blue Knights, led by former director
Paul Murray and including fan representatives, issued a
statement on Friday saying it was finalising an offer for the
club.