Lack of contact from Charles Green influenced players' newco rejection

A lack of communication from Charles Green played a big part in the decisions of players to reject a move to his Sevco 5088 company.

The contracts of Rangers FC employees are being transferred to Sevco, the company which intends to form a new Rangers after the old club is liquidated.

Former Rangers players Steven Whittaker and Steven Naismith turned down the transfer to become free agents and said that a lack of clarity on the newco was the main issue for them.

Whittaker said: “The only time we saw Charles [Green] was after the last game of the season. He said the players had done a great thing in taking the wage cut and that he wanted to take the club forward.

“The lack of contact has frustrated a lot of the players. It would have been nice to be kept up to date and get feedback. I’ve had one email last week and that’s the only contact I have had with the club throughout this hard time.”

Naismith said his move was driven by the uncertainty surrounding the club. The striker, who has not played since October last year as he recovers from a knee injury, said that Green and his consortium had not spoken to his face-to-face once throughout their involvement at Ibrox.

Naismith said: “The uncertainty of what division the new company will be playing in was a factor. There’s too much uncertainty for me to be waiting around to see where that is.

“The bit of contact that I had was on Thursday when I got an email, then my representatives met [Green] on Friday. I can’t transfer to a company that I’ve never met, where the person involved has never met me and I don’t know anything about any of the investors.

“There’s just far too much uncertainty.”

In a statement released on Rangers' website, Green disputed the players' assertions and threatened legal action against any players who sought to move on.

"The club is facing massive challenges in terms of its league status and the last thing the fans want to see is a dispute between the club and players," he said.

"However, it appears that is the route several players are choosing. I can assure those players and clubs who may be interested in signing them that Rangers will seek damages for breach of contract and for inducement to break contracts.

"We have no wish to go to court on these matters but the players involved, their agents and clubs who may be pursuing these players should be in no doubt that we will do whatever it takes to protect the Club's interests."

Naismith, like Whittaker, informed manager Ally McCoist that he would be rejecting the move to the newco on Sunday morning. Both players said McCoist wished them well.

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