By Graham Barnstaple
February 13 2012

It has finally happened, Rangers have file the necessary papers at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to go into administration.

It is important to not they have not yet entered administration but have kicked off the process that will see someone appointed in the next 5-10 days to look after their affairs while the look to come up with a settlement for their creditors.

It has obviously been rumoured for some time this could happen and it has probably happened a bit earlier than many expected. It was expected the HMRC case would tip them over the edge, but things seem to be worse than we all expected.

The announcement comes on the same day they have confirmed the signing of Daniel Cousin, which seems strange given one of the first things an administrator will do is cut costs, and this is usually labour cost. Every other club who has gone into administration have immediately been forced to make redundancies.

They will also be deducted ten points as soon as the administration is confirmed which see them 14 point behind Celtic and only nine ahead of third placed Motherwell who will have a game in hand.

If I was a Rangers fan I would be even more concerned this has happened before the results of the tax case, and if that doesn’t go in their favours things could get even worse.

They will also have to make sure they get all their financial house in order before the UEFA deadline for a licence to play in their competitions next season. This could see them miss the chance to take part in the Champions League qualifiers, assuming they can hold on to second place.

We could be in a for a really interesting few weeks (or longer) in Scottish football….