Rangers administration: Blue Knights willing to give way to bigger bid PAUL Murray has revealed he will "step aside" from the battle to save Rangers if any alternative bid for the club has greater resources than his own and can guarantee a secure future for the crisis-torn Scottish champions. Administrators Duff and Phelps have set a deadline of tomorrow for interested parties to formally lodge indicative offers for the club. Former director Murray's Blue Knights consortium, which has received support from all three main Rangers supporters" groups and former manager Walter Smith, have already confirmed they will lodge a bid. They face at least one rival offer, from Sale Sharks owner and Edinburgh-born businessman Brian Kennedy, while the administrators claimed last week to be aware of potential interest from both the Far East and the United States. Murray, whose consortium includes London firm Ticketus, which purchased £24 million worth of future season ticket sales from discredited club owner Craig Whyte, remains confident his bid offers Rangers a credible opportunity to avoid liquidation and fund the recovery of the club. But he told The Scotsman he would not attempt to stand in the way of any other prospective buyer who showed they could bring superior financial wherewithal to the table. "I'd be the first to step aside if anyone with really deep pockets comes forward and wants to do a deal on their own," said Murray. I'm not precious about my position. I just want the club to be in safe hands. I've always said I'm happy to talk to any interested parties. Murray's takeover plan includes a new share issue for Rangers which would be dependent on the administrators securing Whyte's 85.3 per cent holding in the club, purchased from Sir David Murray for £1 last May. "The administrators have to deliver Craig Whyte's shares," added Paul Murray. They are confident of getting those shares from him. The looming verdict from the First Tier Tribunal on Rangers appeal against an HMRC bill for Employee Benefit Trust payments, with a potential £49 million liability, is a consideration in any offer for the club. Murray, who sees the involvement of Ticketus in his Blue Knights consortium as crucial from that perspective, still envisages Rangers coming out of their insolvency event by way of a Company Voluntary Arrangement with creditors. "The plan is to exit from administration by a CVA and the big tax case is just another part of it," he said. The CVA is all about making payments into the pot. We can only bid what we think is the right offer for the club. At the moment, before any outcome to the big tax case, Ticketus are the club's biggest creditors. They are intent on defending that position. So their involvement makes the process of exiting from administration a lot easier. They would stay out of that process [as creditors], making dealing with HMRC a lot easier. As well as having the money to buy the club, it is also important that we are able to finance the club going forward. Former Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston, who along with Paul Murray was part of the independent board committee at Rangers which expressed concerns over Whyte's takeover of the club prior to its completion, has added his backing to the Blue Knights" bid. "Paul Murray is working 48 hours a day and he is working against the clock," said Johnston. I have spoken to him almost every day for the past 10 months. His and his team's ambition is to see Rangers not only survive, but thrive. I have no doubts about his motivation. He is not a man driven by ego. Johnston also expressed his optimism that Whyte will have no further part to play at Rangers post-administration. "He (Whyte) is not wholly out of the game, but the barriers to his re-entry are very high," added Johnston. Do I feel vindicated? Do I feel any satisfaction? The satisfaction must come with the revival of Rangers. I am more hopeful. Whyte is almost out of the door. He is no longer the helmsman taking Rangers on to the rocks. We have to get the club back. Former Scottish Rugby Union board member Kennedy, meanwhile, has insisted he remains a reluctant suitor for Rangers who is motivated solely by a fear of seeing the demise of such a high-profile sporting institution. "I don't really want to buy the club, but I don't want to see Rangers die," Kennedy told BBC Scotland. I've said from the start that, if the administrators view my offer as the best one for the club, I'm happy to take it on. But I'll be equally happy if someone else can take it on. "It's the administrators" job to talk up the interest, to get the best price possible. You never really know, so you've got to just concentrate on your own offer. Kennedy admits the heightened public profile and media scrutiny which would come with owning Rangers is the biggest factor in his lack of enthusiasm at his prospects of buying the club. "That's the thing that makes me reluctant," he added. It always ends in tears. It's like being Prime Minister.