Only when Rangers takeover kicks in will the club shake off the cloak of irrelevance – Keith Jackson

For a fleeting moment it was all a convenient, perhaps even a much needed distraction. The inevitable firing of Philippe Clement. The instant hiring of a club legend as his interim replacement.

And then the late surge of rediscovered pride at Rugby Park as Barry Ferguson and his died-in-the-wool backroom staff came up with the kind of cunning plan which would have been beyond the managerial boundaries of the Belgian Baldrick.

But on Saturday afternoon, Rangers were served with a sharp reminder of why they have got themselves into such a shambolic state in the first place as Ferguson and his coaching team failed to pull them out of another two-goal hole against Motherwell. And, more importantly, of precisely what needs to be done if, as a club, they are to stand any chance of emerging from this extended period of perennial underachievement. And here’s where there’s some respite and good news for an emotionally exhausted support that has long since passed the end of its collective tether.

The proposed game changing, multi-million pound American takeover of their club remains very much alive and on track. Philadelphia-based businessman Andrew Cavenagh – revealed by Record Sport as the principle driver of this deal and a person of considerable personal wealth – is still at the table and fully committed to concluding the process.

Similarly, his billionaire backers at the San Francisco 49ers are in lockstep with Cavenagh and motivated to add the Glasgow outfit to their expanding sporting portfolio. Cavenagh has been hard at this for the best part of five months now, ever since holding initial talks over buying out Dave King’s 13 percent holding.

The plan has developed and grown in scale since that first meeting. Cavenagh