Whyte: I'll take Gers forward

20 October 2011 17:39
Craig Whyte is confident he will prove he is the right man to steer Rangers through a challenging chapter in the club's history.[LNB] The Scottish tycoon completed his takeover of the Ibrox club in May, when he replaced Sir David Murray as majority shareholder.[LNB]The Scottish champions are involved in two separate cases with HM Revenue and Customs, both relating to payments made before Whyte took over as owner.[LNB]This week also witnessed the resignations of John Greig and John McClelland from the Ibrox board, one week after finance director Donald McIntyre also stepped down.[LNB]McIntyre and former chief executive Martin Bain were both suspended by Rangers in May, shortly after Whyte completed his takeover.[LNB]In an interview with STV, it was put to Whyte that some people may question whether he has the cash and the expertise for the job at a difficult time for Rangers.[LNB]He said: "I understand peoples' concerns about that but I have stepped up to the plate to do it.[LNB]"There was not a queue of people waiting to take on this challenge.[LNB]"When judgment is passed in the years to come, I think people will see that I will have taken the business forward and I will have sorted out the issues.[LNB]"Ultimately, my track record speaks for itself.[LNB]"I'm here, I'm the owner of Rangers, I'm the chairman of Rangers and I've done a lot more successful deals than deals that haven't worked out. That ultimately speaks for itself."[LNB]Whyte added: "I've got nothing to hide at all. I'm very open. I come to Ibrox regularly and a lot of people know me around here. I've got nothing to hide."[LNB]Meanwhile, Whyte met with the Rangers Supporters Trust last night, where he made assurances that the club would continue even in the event of going into administration.[LNB]The minutes of the meeting read: "The chairman is 100% committed to protecting the rights of small shareholders in the event of the club going into administration.[LNB]"He does not consider that insolvency is inevitable, but in any case it will be manageable.[LNB]"He stated 'as a Rangers fan it would be as uncomfortable and unpleasant' for him as for everyone else but he was confident we would see it through.[LNB]"There is no doubt the club would continue."[LNB]On the larger tax case, the related minutes read: "The chairman expects the case to come to a head before Christmas but any outcome would still be subject to appeal."[LNB]On the resignations of directors Greig and McClelland, the minutes reported that "the chairman stated he considered he got on well with both John Greig and John McClelland and he first heard of their resignations when they were reported in the media. He felt that he had not excluded them from decision-making".[LNB]Bain and McIntyre have both succeeded in having sums of cash frozen pending legal proceedings against Rangers but Whyte told the meeting that any dealings in the transfer market in January would not be impacted as a result.[LNB]"The chairman conceded this makes life difficult with regard to cash-flow but it will not affect the club's ability to, for instance, make signings in the January window," the minutes read.[LNB]Whyte also discussed a BBC documentary to be shown tonight, days after Rangers withdrew co-operation with the broadcaster.[LNB]The minutes read: "The chairman considered that allegations put to him so far by the BBC were unfounded and unfair. He is not aware of all of the content of the programme but after viewing he will respond accordingly."

Source: Team_Talk