RANGERS directors James and Sandy Easdale are poised to "save the industry" after meeting with administrators at a crisis-hit shipyard.

The tycoon brothers met with KPMG bosses at Ferguson Shipbuilders, in Port Glasgow, yesterday to discuss their options over saving the yard.

The Greenock-based Easdales revealed they started putting plans in place for taking over Ferguson's as soon as it went into administration on Friday with the loss of 70 jobs.

The brothers, who own McGill's Buses, had an hour-long meeting with administrators, followed by a tour of the Inverclyde site.

Speaking after the meeting, Sandy Easdale said: "KPMG were honest with us on the way forward.

"It's now time to bring in our experts to assess valuations.

"It's a business, so we've got to go away and look at the numbers."

Administrators blamed cash-flow problems and a lack of orders for the shipbuilder getting into financial difficulty.

And the brothers warned workers not to get overly optimistic about any possible takeover.

Sandy said: "We look forward to seeing what we can do, but it is early days - we are not promising anything.

"It's a big gamble at this moment in time because there are no orders on the books - there is nothing there at all to be honest.

"They have a couple of bits and pieces that they are finishing off but there is no order book whatsoever."

The brothers have assembled an expert team who will examine the financial future of the shipyard.

James said: "I think it's about saving the industry, jobs will come on the back of that."

rebecca.gray@eveningtimes.co.uk