Rangers players must join newco - Charles Green

Prospective Rangers owner Charles Green is adamant that existing players will be transferred to a new company.

His consortium aim to pursue a 'newco' route to complete their purchase after their offer to creditors was rejected by Revenue and Customs.

"If the players choose not to transfer they will then be in breach of contract," Green told the club website.

"But we want all of the staff and players to get behind what we are trying to do."

Protection of employment regulations suggest that employees must be offered but are under no obligation to accept the terms of transfer to a new company and the players' union has echoed this sentiment.

The issue is further complicated with player contracts under Fifa, Uefa and Scottish FA regulations.

But Green believes Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) compels the players to move across, saying: "TUPE is very clear and all employees will be transferred under the rules and regulations.

"We've explained to all the staff that contracts will be switched to the new company."

Paul Clark of administrators Duff & Phelps is also sanguine about the prospect of players switching to the newco.

"Once the sale is concluded, all of the players and staff will move over to the new company," he told BBC Scotland. "The newco will honour existing contracts. It's simply the name of their employer that changes."

With Rangers due to reform as a new company it means rival clubs will have to vote on whether to readmit them to the Scottish Premier League.

Clark added: "It will be for Charles Green to make arrangements with the SPL about the ongoing membership for the new company. Discussions have already taken place today.

"The position of Duff & Phelps is that we will remain as administrators probably for some more weeks. We will then get release from that position and the company will be passed into liquidation. But just to stress the club will have been sold and moved out of the company by then.

"The history of the club remains with the club, so the club moves from Rangers Plc into the new company and all of the titles and 140-year history will remain with the club. That was part of the two-stage process we set up with Charles Green all those weeks ago."

Under the terms of their agreement with Duff & Phelps, Green's consortium are set to gain control of a new Rangers for £5.5m, rather than a sum of £8.5m that had been offered in the CVA.

However, any new club will be excluded from European football for three years meaning a loss of revenue.

"Our purchase price has gone down by £3m," explained Green to BBC Scotland. "But the reality is that there is probably more money required to go in now because this means there is no European prospect for three years and that is damaging financially.

"We understood the risk from day one and we have to play the cards we are dealt."