WHEN Charles Green announced he had bought Rangers for £2 from Craig Whyte last May, the collective sigh of relief from fans was almost audible.

It was, supporters of the troubled Ibrox club firmly believed, the last they would ever hear of the enigmatic Whyte.

The businessman from Motherwell had provoked fury when he put the Glasgow institution into administration last February.

It soon emerged he had withheld in excess of £13million in taxes in the form of NIC, PAYE and VAT during his tenure. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," was the general feeling among Rangers fans, then, towards someone who had been hailed as a hero when he bought out Sir David Murray the year before.

Yet, whose presence is now casting a considerable shadow over daily events at Ibrox less than 12 months down the line?

Yep, Craig Whyte. Which is why everyone at Rangers should perhaps remain wary as, slowly but surely, a sense of real optimism about the future returns.

The resignation of major shareholder Green earlier this month was widely perceived to be a positive development.

The Yorkshireman's take-over is under investigation after damaging and potentially serious claims by Whyte that he was involved.

Green's revelation in an interview when he made a racist remark regarding Imran Ahmad was an ill-judged pronouncement too far for many.

The exit of commercial director and trusted lieutenant Ahmad, too, was almost universally welcomed by Rangers fans at the weekend.

He was last week alleged to have posted confidential information about the ongoing boardroom power struggle on a supporters' website under a pseudonym.

With boss Ally McCoist, chairman Malcolm Murray and non-executive director Walter Smith – men whose priority is Rangers' health and not their wealth – holding senior positions, it is understandable hopes are high of an imminent end to the off-field turmoil.

However, neither Green nor Ahmad – despite being reported to the Serious Fraud Office by the Worthington Group, a company with close ties to Whyte, last week – has been found guilty of wrongdoing.

As the re-emergence of Whyte in this sorry saga has underlined in recent weeks, it would be foolish to think neither man will have a say about the direction of the club.

IAmRangers – the alias Ahmad is reputed to have used – suggested Green would return once the allegations against him have been disproved in one of his now infamous online missives.

"When push comes to shove an EGM will be called firing everyone as Green's original pre-IPO investors still have 51% and Green has proxies from all of them," he posted.

The removal of Smith and Murray would cause uproar among the Rangers support. With season tickets up for renewal it would be a suicidal bit of business. However, there are other ways Green and Ahmad, who both retain substantial shareholdings in the club, can determine what path the Govan club now takes.

McCoist was asked directly at the weekend if he would like Jim McColl, the richest man in Scotland, to now buy into the club he grew up in Rutherglen supporting.

"He is a fine man," he replied. But speculation that Greenock businessman James Easdale and his brother Sandy, who served time in prison for VAT fraud in 1997, were set to increase their stake in the club has intensified in the last few days.

After his team had defeated East Stirlingshire 4-2 in their final away game of the 2012/13 season on Saturday, McCoist once again stressed the pressing need to strengthen.

With Robbie Crawford, Luca Gasparotto, Andy Mitchell, Kal Naismith and Daniel Stoney, who is just 16, all involved at Ochilview, it was easy, once again, to understand his concerns.

He will meet club interim chief exec Craig Mather tomorrow and is hoping to be told definitively the size of the budget that will be made available to him this summer.

"I would hope the whole experience of this season will stand the younger boys who have been involved in good stead for next season," commented McCoist.

"The most important thing now is that we move on and get experienced players in to help the young boys."

With so much uncertainty still surrounding Rangers, his much-longed for recruitment drive in the close season may not be straightforward.

It may not, in fact, be until the report into the takeover has been completed by the forensic investigators of accountants Deloitte and lawyers Pinsent Masons that any progress can be made.

One financial expert last week predicted the situation at Rangers would only become clear in three to five years.

The news that ex-director Dave King is monitoring goings-on with a view to investing once again has been greeted enthusiastically by his fans.

But the soap opera that Rangers has turned into looks certain to run for some time before stability is restored.