THERE have been many characters starring in the pantomime that has become Rangers in the last five months.
Craig Whyte made sure he secured the role of villain while administrators Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, of Duff and Phelps, made the role of ugly sisters their own.
Now, in a dramatic twist to the script, it appears as though Rangers might have finally found their Prince Charming riding to their rescue in the shape of former manager Walter Smith.
A day of high drama yesterday started with the stunning revelation Ally McCoist was close to quitting the Ibrox club after learning owner-in-waiting Charles Green planned to axe him when he gained control of the club.
It was then off to Ibrox for the creditors meeting in which the proposed exit from administration via a Company Voluntary Agreement was formally rejected after HMRC refused to accept a penny-in-the-pound deal.
After 140 years of history, it took all of eight minutes for the liquidation process to begin. And it then allowed Green to press ahead with his plans to form a newco and acquire the assets of the club in a £5.5m deal.
However, the big news, the news which would have captured the attention and imagination of every Rangers supporter worldwide, was that Smith has suddenly come to the fore and affiliated himself with yet another new consortium.
The timing, of course, wasn't coincidental. With pressure already mounting on Green with news of McCoist's disapproval, the last thing he needed was to see someone of Smith's standing lobbying for him to pass the club over.
In an instant, from knowing a large amount of fans found his motives questionable without mass opposition to his takeover attempts, Green was and is now facing a situation where the fans are now demanding his departure.
Smith has, in many respects, assumed the role of the pied piper as well as that of prince charming. Whatever tunes he plays, he does so in the knowledge the fans will dance behind him.
Having never associated himself with any particular consortium, and there has been more than one approach towards him in the past few months from various fractions, Smith always had the potential to influence the fans more than anyone else.
And the very fact he has now chosen to do so, at a time when Green was putting the finishing touches on his very own takeover deal which has now gone through, speaks volumes for his opinion on the new man in control.
Green is also wise enough to know his bid to take Rangers forward relies on incoming season-ticket money; without that financial backing he would be left fighting a losing battle. He has, effectively, now been backed into a corner.
What way he chooses to handle this new situation and this new development, only time will tell. He may reject and ignore the clamour for him to hand over the reins and with it pocket himself a £500,000 windfall in the process.
But how he can afford to do that, with the supporters throwing their weight behind this Smith-led consortium, is difficult to fathom.
There are, most certainly, many obstacles still to overcome for Rangers if the club are to return to former glories. Today, however, might just have offered a route that the fans can trust won't be leading them up a blind alley. As much as McCoist's stock has risen in the eyes of the Light Blue legions, if not for his actual handling of football matters in what was a largely disappointing campaign even prior to administration but for his actions in the aftermath, Smith remains the most respectable figure associated with the football club.
He has enjoyed success during his two spells in the dug-out, has been involved in the Fighting Fund campaign orchestrated by the Ibrox club's supporters in recent months to keep the institution afloat, and has been a lifelong supporter of the club.
Although he decided to call time on his managerial career at the Glasgow club just over a year ago, although he always maintained he could one day be tempted back into football if an attractive enough job outwith Scotland came along, nothing managed to tickle his fancy.
However, enough was obviously enough for Smith and, having been convinced in the new consortium's plans and vision, he has added the considerable weight he carries among the Ibrox side's supporters, to their attempts to effectively force Green out the door.
It is thought it will be a long time before Rangers will be in any sort of a position to finally bring down the curtain on what has and will continue to be a saga in Scottish football.
However, Smith's entrance on to centre stage and into the spotlight might just help bring the last act to a conclusion that bit quicker.