In the running are Chicago-based Club 9 Sports, the Blue Knights, headed by former Ibrox director Paul Murray, and a Singaporean consortium.

Hitherto, a move out of administration through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) was the focus of the administrators, but they have now given serious credence to the possibility of the club having to be liquidated.

“The preferred option remains a CVA and it remains an option for all of the bidders,” co-administrator Paul Clark told a number of newspapers.

“And we still think it’s achievable and we’re still recommending that as the preferred course of action to the bidders.

“We must accept, though, that we have in Rangers a financially-stricken institution and there is an amount of toxicity in there as a result of what’s gone on.

“So all of the options have to remain open and it may be that some of the bidders decide that they would rather start afresh.

“We cannot rule out the winning bid could prefer a different structure that meant the sale of the business to a new company and in that eventuality it is certainly possible that Rangers would be liquidated.

“But it would only be done so after the football club was made safe.”