Craig Whyte's mumbling Rangers boardroom cull attempt revealed as details of Martin Bain conference call axe emerge

Craig Whyte picked up the keys to Ibrox on May 6, 2011.

And from that moment the meter started ticking towards financial oblivion.

By blanking the tax man and failing to pay PAYE and VAT from day one, Whyte began running up a ruinous bill weighty enough to tip the club over the edge. He owed the Treasury £9million by the time they called it in nine months later.

And having secretly funded his entire takeover by mortgaging off four years of future season-ticket money, the end was already inevitable. It was only ever a matter of time.

Paul Murray saw it all coming from a mile off, even though his prying eyes were removed from the Rangers inner sanctum shortly after Whyte had seized control.

“Walter Smith had won the league on the final day of the season at Kilmarnock,” Murray recalls before warning that this is where the story turns rapidly from the surreal to the utterly earth shattering.

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“ Dave King had suggested that the existing directors all meet at Ibrox before travelling down to Rugby Park. I’d actually sent Dave a letter confirming my intention to resign from the board after the match.

“But Dave felt it was really important that we all stayed so we could see what was going on from the