THE APPARENT inevitability of Rangers’ impending descent into administration, after months of speculation around their finances, has done nothing to douse the fierce impact of reality. Yesterday afternoon came confirmation that papers had been lodged at Edinburgh’s court of session to state an intention to place the club in the hands of an administrator.

Finger-pointing and blame games are now rife, but what cannot be denied above all else is that mismanagement at Ibrox, initially in pursuit of an unattainable European dream, has cost Rangers to the extent that the club that survives this process – if indeed it does – will be a pale shadow of its former self.

There are two strands to this fascinating tale. The first is the pressing questions around Craig Whyte’s stewardship of Rangers since he bought Sir David Murray’s majority shareholding for £1 (€1.20) last May. From the outset, it seemed curious that any businessman would buy a business facing a potential and widely reported £49 million (€59m) contingent liability if it was defeated in a tax tribunal.

But it was with Murray himself that Rangers’ troubles began. A pertinent description of wild spending days at Ibrox, most notably when Dick Advocaat was manager, was that he was guilty of “financial vandalism” in chasing European glory. The former chairman’s vision for Rangers as outgrowing Scottish football had no basis in reality.

This was a Rangers who saw fit to spend £12 million (€14.5m) on Tore Andre Flo and a host of highly paid foreign players as net debt peaked at £80 million (€96m). The return on that did not mirror outlay, with Rangers struggling to make an impact on the Champions League.

Rangers’ use of employee benefit trust schemes to pay players during the period from 2001 is the matter which led to such close interest from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The club have now claimed that defeat in the case – and the result is not yet known – would actually cost in excess of £50 million (€60m).

This troubled legacy, nonetheless, should arguably be treated in isolation from Whyte’s own strategy. It has been confirmed that he mortgaged future season ticket money at the club to the London-based firm Ticketus to the value of £24 million (€29m), raising questions about his ability or willingness to fund Rangers in even the short term. Audited accounts for the last financial year have failed to appear despite promises to the contrary.