CASH-STRAPPED Rangers could have to shell out over £500,000 to pay off chief executive Graham Wallace and director Philip Nash if the pair are ousted.

Billionaire businessman Mike Ashley wants both Wallace and Nash removed from their positions on the board - and has called a general meeting of the Ibrox club.

The surprise move is a significant development in the escalating battle for control of the troubled Glasgow institution. The Rangers board issued a statement yesterday morning saying that it is "united in its support of the executive team".

However, Sports Direct tycoon Ashley is hopeful he has the 51% shareholder backing that he needs to get the motion passed.

Ashley has formed an alliance with football board chairman Sandy Easdale in recent weeks. And, if major stakeholders Laxey Partners or other investors support the bid, it should go through.

However, former Manchester City chief executive Wallace and ex-Arsenal and Liverpool financial director Nash would need to be compensated if it does succeed.

And it could take £500,000 to pay up the remainder of their contracts with the SPFL League One champions.

One option would be to put Wallace and Nash on fully-paid gardening leave until their deals run out - but that would put a strain on already-dwindling finances.

Rangers would need to appoint a replacement to run the club if Wallace, who earns an annual salary of £315,000, was removed.

Alternatively, they could pay the highly-remunerated executives off in one go - and honour any bonuses they have in their agreements.

Despite raising over £3million in a new share offering last month, Rangers only has enough money to sustain it until the end of 2014.

And it is unclear where the money will come from to pay Wallace and Nash if they are removed from their positions at the EGM.

Hopes were high that Scot Wallace could restore order when he succeeded Craig Mather as chief executive last November.

The Dumfries-born accountant came with an impressive track record, having worked in a variety of senior roles, including chief executive, at Barclays Premier League club City.

However, he has been unable to mend the club's relationship with a large section of the Rangers support who are unhappy with many aspects of the running of the Ibrox club.

Just over 23,000 fans renewed their season tickets for Ibrox this summer - a drop of over 10,000 on last season.

And in recent months it has emerged that a power struggle was being waged between football board chairman Easdale and Wallace.

Wallace is reported to have opened negotiations with former director Dave King in the past month about coming to the rescue of the Light Blues.

The South Africa-based businessman has previously stated that he was prepared to invest £50m of his money to get Rangers back to the forefront of the Scottish game.

But King coming on board would dilute the stakes of existing investors and they are unprepared to lose more money on their outlay after seeing the share price plummet from 70p to just 20p.