Murray attacks previous Rangers regime

Rangers chairman Paul Murray has hit out at the Ibrox regimes which brought the Glasgow giants to their knees - telling them: "You should be ashamed.''

The Light Blues chief is currently keeping the chair at the top of the boardroom table warm while Dave King sets about proving he is fit and proper enough to return to the club.

But he savaged the likes of Craig Whyte, Charles Green, David Somers and Derek Llambias for the actions which have sparked four years of turmoil.

Former chairman Somers and director James Easdale left the club earlier this month ahead of an emergency general meeting which would have seen them voted out by shareholders.

Chief executive Llambias and finance director Barry Leach - associates of Mike Ashley - stayed but were forcibly removed as King stormed Edmiston Drive with his successful coup.

Now interim chairman Murray has released a statement attacking the former board as well as other directors who have served since the club was liquidated in the summer of 2012.

He said: "Many of the people who have occupied the Ibrox boardroom during that period should be ashamed of themselves for the parts they played in dragging this great institution towards near financial ruin.

"It is actually difficult to look closely at the club's finances and understand the rationale behind some of the decisions taken.

"Let me give just two examples of the recklessness displayed by those who were removed from office just more than two weeks ago. One is the amount - in the region of £300,000 - spent on a needless general meeting and the other is the signing of five Newcastle loan players without medicals.

"This is simply appalling.''

Former Deutsche Bank executive Murray launched his attack just hours after it was confirmed the club had accepted a £1.5million interest-free and unsecured loan from Three Bears investors Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor.

At the same time, they also snubbed the chance to withdraw a second £5million sum from Newcastle United owner Ashley.

The Sports Direct tycoon handed the club a £5million loan earlier this year but used it as an opportunity to swallow up 75 per cent of the club's retail income as well as taking security on the club's trademarks and training ground.

The Three Bears loan will help the club to see itself through the final months of the season while Murray and his directors John Gilligan, John Bennett and Park look to bring in fresh funding.

The new board said they were "delighted'' with the wealthy trio's support, which became necessary as a forensic investigation of the club's books uncovered the "full extent of the financial damage caused by every regime over the last four years''.

Murray has been combing through a number of the club's contracts since the new board gained control on March 6 but told fans the club will "recover fully despite those years of gross mismanagement''.

He said: "We hope to present this package in the coming weeks but I want to thank George, Douglas and George who continue to demonstrate their commitment to the club.''

King - who avoided jail despite admitting to 41 breaches of South African tax laws in 2013 - must first pass the Scottish Football Association and stock exchange "fit and proper'' tests before he can take up his board seat.

However, the Johannesburg-based millionaire has vowed to stump up 50 per cent of the cash Rangers need to fire themselves back to the top of the Scottish game - and Murray insisted King would stay true to his word.

"He is not doing so at the moment because we respect the processes of the SFA and must wait until they have completed their review of Dave's status before he can fully participate in the future of the club,'' he explained.

"After that we will be inviting him to invest alongside the gentlemen who have just provided today's facility and others who are also willing to invest.

"We can and we will rebuild the club and this #1.5m investment is stage one of the process.''

As for the the rest of Ashley's loan, Murray said: "We have already made it clear we are happy to engage with Sports Direct but the board has decided against drawing down the second £5m tranche of Sports Direct's £10m loan.

"We are still in the process of reviewing all of the contractual relationships that Sports Direct has with the club and we hope to conclude this review very shortly.''