THE mere mention of the words 'Champions' and 'League' should not be part of the Rangers boardroom vocabulary these days ...

at least, not if you want to be taken seriously by the fed-up fans.

It is one of the three buzz phrases that those in control look to use when they have bad news to bury or an excuse to make, right up there with

blaming the fans for Rangers' financial problems and looking to add to the playing squad.

Chairman David Somers doesn't say much in public, but when he speaks, people usually listen, and not for the right reasons.

Just weeks after his performance at Rangers' AGM where he succeeded in further alienating a crowd that had already heckled him throughout, he was back in front of the cameras again yesterday.

Somers stood on the steps at the back of Ibrox and attempted to defend the loan deal he and his fellow-board members - Derek Llambias, Barry Leach and James Easdale - have just signed off that sees Mike Ashley further enhance his status as Rangers' bank of last resort.

It is, in Somers' eyes, a 'great deal' and one that will help him realise his ambitions of completing the third of the supposed three goals he has at Ibrox; to see Rangers back in the Premiership and, yes, the Champions League.

Charles Green left Ibrox before he ever heard the iconic theme music booming around the famous arena, and Rangers fans hope Somers and his

cohorts will be gone long before Zadok The Priest gets an airing from their televisions when the next round of the competition kicks off in March.

Maybe Somers has a masterplan the Rangers fans haven't seen, maybe he likes to dream big.

But fans are living with the reality and they are not impressed with what is being presented to them.

Rangers have now taken three loans from Ashley inside a few months,

leaving them millions of pounds in debt to the billionaire businessman, and each one has been as indefensible as the last.

The devil will be in the detail for this latest £10m bail-out from Ashley, but the headlines don't make pleasant reading for fans.

*26% of the share capital of Rangers Retail Ltd will be transferred to Sports Direct.

*The facility, which arrives in two £5m tranches, will be secured by a floating charge over Rangers' assets and fixed charges over Murray Park,

Edmiston House, Albion Car Park, and the club's registered trademarks.

*Sports Direct have the right to nominate two directors to the board of Rangers.

*From 2017/18, any future shirt sponsorship proceeds will be for the benefit of RRL, which Ashley overwhelmingly controls.

*Rangers will use the proceeds of its share of a £1.6m dividend from RRL to repay sums owing to Sports Direct in respect of the cessation of onerous leases on unprofitable stores.

Ashley must love doing business with this board. The Londoner may have become their go-to man when they need dug out of another hole, but he is far from the only show in town.

The Three Bears consortium - an alliance between Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor - had millions of pounds on the table, but couldn't get a deal over the line.

It was no surprise to the fans and shareholders who have watched on in disbelief at the decisions taken at the top of the Marble Staircase in recent months and years.

It is only a couple of months since Ashley parked his tanks on Edmiston Drive and put his big guns - Llambias and Leach - in position at Ibrox.

His power grab has been speedy and ruthless and has left fans angry and bewildered but they remain up for the battle.

Ashley may not have got his hands on Ibrox, but he has Rangers' assets under lock and key at present and their merchandise outlets and streams cornered as he looks to keep the pound signs rolling through the Sports Direct books.

This move by the current regime could prove to be one of their last throws of the dice, however, with the General Meeting called by Dave King aimed at removing them all from power.

He needs a majority vote and can already count on the Three Bears and the support of fans to help get him over the line.

Rangers have until February 9 to confirm a date for the shareholder summit that is shaping up to be one of the most defining days in the club's illustrious history.

A cost-cutting exercise, undertaken while incomes are strangled and 'onerous' contracts remain in place, has taken its toll on the club as many long-serving and valued members of staff have been made redundant.

It is not a short-term fix, loans and short-sighted plans that Rangers need, it is investment and a vision for the future, something none of the men on the board, or those pulling the strings, have yet shown supporters they have.

It is not platitudes about adding players to a squad that is already too highly paid for the level at which Rangers are operating at that fans want to hear, especially when two managers, Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall, have handed in their notice within weeks of each other.

After seeing a host of people - from Whyte to Green - come and go and offer sound bites and clichés, the Light Blue legions are not taken in by promises of players or far-fetched notions of Champions League football.

They just want their club back and in the hands of people, like them, who understand it and will care for it.

If King's EGM call is successful and he, Paul Murray and John Gilligan replace the current four-man hierarchy, they will see it as a step in the right direction.

If the Three Bears can come on board and provide expertise and finance, that will be two steps forward.

The spectre of Ashley, even more so after these latest developments, will always loom and have the potential to take them one pace back, though.

That will be this board's Ibrox legacy.