The historic Rangers rescue that almost never happened as crushing defeat sparked 'I can't do this anymore' confession

He got there in the end.

When Paul Murray, Dave King and John Gilligan stormed into the Ibrox boardroom in March 2015 it was not just a landmark triumph for the club’s long-suffering fans. It was a victory for one man’s perseverance.

But vindication would have to wait.

It’s now deep into 2012. Having come within a few hours of buying the club out of administration along with Brian Kennedy, Murray looks on in disbelief as Charles Green ’s big Yorkshire hands are creating chaos where his football club used to be.

Rangers may be playing in the lowest tier of Scotland’s professional league but this is big business for Green and his accomplices. Millions upon millions of pounds are coming and going through the doors.

A legalised heist which began when Craig Whyte tossed a pound coin onto Sir David Murray’s office desk peaks in December when Green raises more than £20million by floating the club on the stock exchange. Having bought the assets from Duff & Phelps for a knock-down £5.5m.

“I need to be mindful of how I word this but it did feel around that time as if it had taken a more serious twist,” Murray notes. “It felt as if things were becoming more and more heavy, more and more sinister.

“If truth be told, I was physically and emotionally drained. I became completely detached from the whole thing. But, to coin a phrase from The Godfather, it wasn’t long before they pulled me back in.”

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