Rangers happy to start afresh

The most successful club in Scottish football history had already been expelled from the Scottish Premier League (SPL) after months of financial chaos that led to the formation of a new company or 'newco' after the 140-year-old Glasgow side entered administration.

And on Friday 25 out of 30 Scottish Football League (SFL) voted for Rangers to enter the Third Division, the standard punishment in such cases.

Rangers newco chief executive Charles Green refused to criticise Friday's decision to drop the Ibrox club into the fourth tier, telling the club's website: "We are grateful to be accepted as members of the SFL and accept their decision to vote us into Division Three.

"From the outset, we made clear we would play where we were told to play and we just want to get back to playing football."

However, Green added: "This decision maintains the sporting integrity that clubs and fans across Scotland have been calling for but it also impacts massively on Scottish football as a whole and only time will tell what the consequences will be.

"Rangers has been handed the ultimate punishment of starting again from the bottom of the leagues but there is an overwhelming feeling among fans and within the club of 'wiping the slate clean' as a club free of sanctions.

"We are a football club and we just want to get back to playing football.

"Now is the time to move on and start afresh."

Before the vote, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan had said that demoting Rangers to the Third Division would cause financial catastrophe and a "slow, lingering death" of the Scottish game.

However, after Friday's move, a more optimistic Regan said: "Today is a watershed for Scottish football.

"There will, undoubtedly, be financial consequences on the horizon. Nonetheless, with togetherness, an open mind, and innovative thinking, there can also be opportunity: opportunity to restructure the game and promote competitiveness, to place greater emphasis on development of young Scottish talent and to support the financial sustainability of clubs through the Financial Fair Play model."

Police are conducting a criminal investigation into the takeover of Rangers by Craig Whyte in May 2011.

Rangers went into administration on 14 February after court action from UK tax officials.

Manager Ally McCoist, a former Rangers and Scotland striker, said supporters would help the club rise again.

"We will come back stronger thanks to the loyalty of the fans and the commitment of everyone at Ibrox, who are working tirelessly to bring stability and success back to Rangers," he said.