Green denies claim from Whyte

Charles Green has denied former owner Craig Whyte's claim that he made the introduction which led to Green's consortium buying the club.

Whyte made the comments in an interview with BBC Scotland, to be broadcast on Wednesday evening.

Green's Sevco Scotland firm took control of Rangers in June after the club plunged into administration under Whyte's stewardship, leading administrators Duff and Phelps to seek a buyer.

In a statement, Rangers chief executive Green said: "Yet again Craig Whyte's version of events paints a misleading picture of what actually happened and it's regrettable that the BBC is providing him with such a platform.

"The facts are that direct contact was made by our consortium with Craig Whyte in the first instance as it appeared at that time that his shares would have to be secured in order for any purchase of the Club to progress.

"I was not present when contact was initially made but subsequently met Craig Whyte who introduced me to the administrator.

"I had no previous association with Craig Whyte and it is misleading to suggest he 'brought us in'.

"I was brought to the transaction by Imran Ahmad following Duff and Phelps contacting Zeus Capital's Manchester office in February, due to their experience in the football sector."

Rangers, meanwhile, have announced two new appointments on the club's board of directors.

Existing director Imran Ahmad has been named as commercial director, with responsibility for developing new business and investment opportunities, and Craig Mather has been appointed as director of sports development.

Chief executive Green said: "My roles have been stretching me to the limit and certainly the commercial side is something we want to improve upon.

"Imran has been alongside from the start and he knows where we want to take the club. He is a very experienced hand and someone I trust completely.

"The other key members of the senior management team have been working with him since May so it's not as if we have brought someone off the street with no knowledge of the people and the culture of the club.

"In terms of Craig, he signed a cheque for ?1million and was one of the founder investors. He has particular interest in youth development and Murray Park is a big cost centre for the club.

"I think there have been issues that we need to address in terms of how the club manages its affairs, how we use the cash that comes in and of course where we are going to spend the money that we are now raising in the market.

"Craig is completely independent. He has come in as an investor and he is looking at things completely objectively.

"When a man signs over ?1million from his own bank account then I think he is entitled to have a look at what he has invested in."

Green would welcome further input at executive level.

He added: "We would certainly like to appoint more people to the board and part of the IPO (initial public offering) process will be to enlist more non-executive directors and their role is about governance to make sure that people like Imran, Brian Stockbridge and myself are working to the model code and looking after the shareholders' interests.

"They can also give us a balanced opinion and that will be important to shareholders."