Wade Wilson
Well-Known Member
CRAIG Whyte and a Rangers administrator blasted the club’s stars in a cash crisis meeting, a secret recording has revealed.
David Whitehouse, of Duff & Phelps, sat down with Mr Whyte, 48, to take digs at the high earners as the Gers were on the verge of being liquidated in 2012.
Finance chief Mr Whitehouse let rip at striker Steven Naismith, 33, who later cut ties with the Bears, after he held one-on-one chats about leaving or taking a pay cut.
He also made disparaging remarks about then-skipper Steven Davis, 34, who came back to Ibrox this year. Mr Whitehouse told the summit: “Naismith, I couldn’t stand. I would let him go tomorrow.
“Davis is the captain. Davis should be behind all the players.”
Mr Whyte replied: “You don’t get any loyalty in football players at all.”
During the taped chat, Mr Whyte also had a pop at former forward Kyle Lafferty, 32, who later admitted he’s a gambling addict.
He said: “Oh he’s a head case. He’s on 12-grand-a-week or something. He’s got all these gambling debts. Yeah yeah. Nutter, nutter.”
Mr Whyte also claimed a player’s form dipped after contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
He revealed: “He had all sorts of personal issues. He caught herpes from a girl in Glasgow. His performance declined after that.” And he also branded Spanish flop Juan Ortiz, 37, “f****** useless”.
He blasted: “He’s useless. Absolutely useless. Ally McCoist signed him. He should be terminated instantly.”
But Mr Whitehouse shelled out praise for then-manager McCoist, 57, for doing everything he could to help the club financially.
He said: “From day one he said I’m not taking any more money. We’ve not paid him anything.”
Mr Whyte added: “Well fair play to him for that, not many people would do that.”
He then asked: “Do you think many players are going to leave with these deals? Mr Whitehouse replied: “I don’t know to be honest.
“It’s difficult to tell. I didn’t think there’s any loyalty there personally from any of the players.
“There was the odd one like Lee McCulloch. He was good. He was sort of like, I’ll play for nothing.” The finance chief revealed Allan McGregor, 37, who re-signed for Gers last year, was “difficult” at first but he later earned his respect.
He said: “Actually I really liked him. I thought he was dead straight.
“He’s hard as nails but actually once you got into his ribs, he was quite easy to deal with. The captain of the team is McGregor. McGregor’s the one with authority.”
But Mr Whyte hit out: “He’s diffic- ult to sell. He’s on too much money.”
The revelations emerged after it was revealed Mr Whyte will release an explosive book Into the Bear Pit about his doomed time at the club.
He bought Rangers for £1 in 2011 from Sir David Murray but a year later financial woes forced the club into administration then liquidation.
David Whitehouse, of Duff & Phelps, sat down with Mr Whyte, 48, to take digs at the high earners as the Gers were on the verge of being liquidated in 2012.
Finance chief Mr Whitehouse let rip at striker Steven Naismith, 33, who later cut ties with the Bears, after he held one-on-one chats about leaving or taking a pay cut.
He also made disparaging remarks about then-skipper Steven Davis, 34, who came back to Ibrox this year. Mr Whitehouse told the summit: “Naismith, I couldn’t stand. I would let him go tomorrow.
“Davis is the captain. Davis should be behind all the players.”
Mr Whyte replied: “You don’t get any loyalty in football players at all.”
During the taped chat, Mr Whyte also had a pop at former forward Kyle Lafferty, 32, who later admitted he’s a gambling addict.
He said: “Oh he’s a head case. He’s on 12-grand-a-week or something. He’s got all these gambling debts. Yeah yeah. Nutter, nutter.”
Mr Whyte also claimed a player’s form dipped after contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
He revealed: “He had all sorts of personal issues. He caught herpes from a girl in Glasgow. His performance declined after that.” And he also branded Spanish flop Juan Ortiz, 37, “f****** useless”.
He blasted: “He’s useless. Absolutely useless. Ally McCoist signed him. He should be terminated instantly.”
But Mr Whitehouse shelled out praise for then-manager McCoist, 57, for doing everything he could to help the club financially.
He said: “From day one he said I’m not taking any more money. We’ve not paid him anything.”
Mr Whyte added: “Well fair play to him for that, not many people would do that.”
He then asked: “Do you think many players are going to leave with these deals? Mr Whitehouse replied: “I don’t know to be honest.
“It’s difficult to tell. I didn’t think there’s any loyalty there personally from any of the players.
“There was the odd one like Lee McCulloch. He was good. He was sort of like, I’ll play for nothing.” The finance chief revealed Allan McGregor, 37, who re-signed for Gers last year, was “difficult” at first but he later earned his respect.
He said: “Actually I really liked him. I thought he was dead straight.
“He’s hard as nails but actually once you got into his ribs, he was quite easy to deal with. The captain of the team is McGregor. McGregor’s the one with authority.”
But Mr Whyte hit out: “He’s diffic- ult to sell. He’s on too much money.”
The revelations emerged after it was revealed Mr Whyte will release an explosive book Into the Bear Pit about his doomed time at the club.
He bought Rangers for £1 in 2011 from Sir David Murray but a year later financial woes forced the club into administration then liquidation.