• CEO Charles Green says contracts have been transferred
• Manager Ally McCoist accuses agents of exploiting situation
Any Rangers player who tries to force a move away from the 'newco' club could face legal action, chief executive Charles Green has warned. Green, the leader of the consortium that recently bought the business and assets of the club for £5.5m, is due to meet PFA Scotland representatives on Monday and said the transfer of player contracts to newco Rangers had already taken place.
Midfielder Rhys McCabe has reportedly lodged an official objection to the transfer of his contract and forward Sone Aluko is also reported to be unhappy to play for the new setup. Green said: "We are meeting the PFA Scotland and their legal advisers with a view to allaying players' concerns about the transfer of contracts, so the timing of these announcements by players is hard to understand. The transfer of contracts has already happened and the club's clear legal advice is that the players' purported objection is ineffective. Rangers would like to make it abundantly clear to players, agents and the chairmen and managers of other football clubs that we will take whatever steps necessary to challenge what we regard as a breach of contract to protect the interests of our club."
Rangers were forced into administration over an unpaid tax bill in February and failure to secure a Company Voluntary Arrangement to exit administration consigned the club to liquidation last week. The new regime face a battle to get newco Rangers granted entry into the Scottish Premier League and face a vote by all 12 top-flight clubs on 4 July, with Hearts and Dundee United already indicating they will reject Rangers' bid.
Rangers manager Ally McCoist, in a statement jointly released with Green, said: "It has been reported that a couple of players have indicated they want to challenge the transfer of their contracts. This is news to me and no player has spoken to me about it. At all times during my first year as manager I strived to show players respect and, in return, would have hoped they would have shown me, and more importantly the club, respect by notifying us of their intentions before making it known elsewhere.
"Players have their decisions to make, and I understand that, but the question they have to ask is do they want to play for Rangers? The formation of a new company is not the issue. The players would be playing for the same club in front of the same fans."
McCoist feels that players need to make their intentions known publicly and has been critical of agents looking to get a move for their clients. "I don't want Rangers fans to be reading over the next few days how devastated players are about having to go. The fans deserve better than that. They are not daft.
"I can understand if a player has the chance to go somewhere else and there is uncertainty about which division we will be playing in. But they should not expect sympathy from supporters if they use the transfer of contracts as an excuse. I already know there are agents touting my players all over the United Kingdom, so let's be brutally honest. We are in a difficult situation and the contracts issue has given some players and agents the belief they can use it to leave the club. The players were magnificent last season and made great sacrifices and that will never be forgotten. Now, we have to look forward and everyone should be honest about their intentions." Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
