THE Rangers Supporters Trust believe an 11th hour legal bid stopped Ibrox being handed over to Mike Ashley this week.

Rangers confirmed on Tuesday that a number of assets, including Murray Park, had been given to billionaire Ashley as security on a £10million crisis loan.

Earlier this month, the possibility of Ibrox also being included in the deal was met by a strong backlash from fans, with hundreds protesting outside the stadium ahead of the Championship fixture with Hearts.

The Trust, which has seen a significant increase in subscriptions in recent weeks and now owns more than 1million shares in RIFC plc, received financial backing from the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund to take legal advice in a bid to stop the under-fire Light Blues board hiving off Ibrox.

A petition was submitted to the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Monday, just hours before it was confirmed Ashley had provided a third loan.

The petition submission followed three days of talks between legal representatives from Rangers and the Trust and an RST spokesman said: "The conclusion of these discussions was the that board has agreed not to grant security over Ibrox for a period up until February 17 covered by the advance notice they submitted.

"We believe our actions had a material impact in stopping the board from granting security over Ibrox. The revised deal with Sports Direct was agreed late on Monday night according to Paul Shackleton, the club's AIM nomad.

"This was immediately following the petition submitted to the court, the announcement of which delayed what would have been a necessary interdict hearing in the Court of Session on Tuesday.

"We do not believe that the filing of a notice of intention to grant security over Ibrox was an error and we believe that a fixed security over Ibrox would most likely have been granted to Sports Direct had it not been challenged."

The news over Ashley's controversial loan, a deal which was described as 'dreadful' by fan chiefs in the Evening Times yesterday, has incensed supporters and shareholders at Ibrox.

A number of groups have staged high-profile protests against the Rangers board and will back a call by Dave King to remove chairman David Somers, chief executive Derek Llambias, Barry Leach and James Easdale at the upcoming General Meeting.

And it has been revealed that the in-house Rangers Fans Board, set up by former chief Graham Wallace last year, has issued a vote of no confidence in the current Ibrox hierarchy.

The RFB was supposed to be the link between the boardroom and the terraces but the fan-elected representatives have hit out at Ibrox top table.

A statement read: "While the Rangers Fans Board (RFB) do not represent shareholders, we do have the remit to represent the views of the Rangers fan base to the board of Rangers Football Club.

"Sadly in recent weeks the board have failed to communicate with the RFB in any meaningful way during this time of great concern for Rangers fans.

"This very little communication has led the RFB to believe the board has no desire to engage with the Rangers fans base.

"From this, and the fact that the board don't even have the courtesy to communicate with the RFB or any other fans groups, we, the members of the RFB, cannot support the board."