Source: Team_Talk
Whyte: Gers still want Prem move
Craig Whyte admits Rangers are still hoping to move to the Premier League, and insists they are working on that "behind the scenes".[LNB] But the new Gers owner says they would also consider a link up with Nordic or Dutch clubs to form a new league, as has been suggested in the past.[LNB]Whyte, who is also battling Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs over a possible £49million bill, believes English football would make the club a lot more viable.[LNB]"We are in Scottish football so it is not a viable proposition to go put £100million into the team," he told The Daily Telegraph.[LNB]"If we went forward into another league set-up, say the English Premier League, then it is very viable to put £100million more in. We are not there at the moment, but we would like to be.[LNB]"[Joining the Premier League] is clearly something that we would like to see examined, it is something we are working on behind the scenes. But there are other potential ideas in terms of European leagues, joining some of the Nordic countries, the Netherlands to create a league."[LNB]Whyte took control of the club from Sir David Murray in May, but there are concerns over a course being brought by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs who are seeking £49 million in back-taxes, interest and penalties.[LNB]HMRC claims Rangers wrongly used Employee Benefit Trusts for a decade, effectively to reclassify regular salaries as loans that avoided income tax and National Insurance.[LNB]Rangers' own advice at the time they were established was that they were legal, and HMRC made no complaint until last year, when it changed its guidance on EBTs.[LNB]Whyte believes Rangers have been singled out as a test case and accuses HMRC of leaking information to the media.[LNB]Should Rangers lose the case there is the threat of administration.[LNB]"It is one of the possibilities we have looked at, yes. The choice, in terms of an adverse finding, is pretty obvious really," he said.[LNB]"I think I can turn this around and sort out the problem. I have put money in and I'm prepared to put money in but I have said it is not a bottomless pit.[LNB]"Whatever happens Rangers will be moving forward. I will not allow the club to go bust. I can control the debt process absolutely, and whatever happens Rangers is going to be there playing in the SPL at Ibrox.[LNB]"Nothing is out of my hands because I control the club, I am the only secured creditor, or rather Rangers FC Group is. So on any decision, while HMRC might push, the group company controls the debt."
