MYSTERY Rangers shareholders Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings risk losing their voting rights - unless they reveal their identities to supporters.

That was the warning

from former Ibrox chairman Malcolm Murray this morning as the bitter battle for control of the Glasgow giants rumbled on.

Murray and his fellow

requisitioners failed in their legal bid to find out who was behind the groups - which, between them, own 12% of the Gers - last week.

However, the shareholders, backed by wealthy entrepreneur Jim McColl, have not given up hope of discovering who owns both Blue Pitch and Margarita.

They could take Rangers

to the Court of Session in

Edinburgh once again and force them to make public who the anonymous money men are.

And if they still refuse to do so then both Blue Pitch and Margarita, who have given their voting proxies to James and Sandy Easdale, could lose their vote.

Murray said: "In terms of institutions, we do know who the major shareholders are. They are very shy retiring people.

"But you have got Hargreave Hale, Artemis, River and Mercantile, Kames Capital and Laxey Partners. These are all big institutions.

"The original shareholders that Charles Green brought

in were, I was told, wealthy Arabs who are quite secretive about their identity.

"I have met their representative many times over the last few months. He seemed to

be quite reasonable up until Charles Green left.

"Then he became very

aggressive and supported the changes in the board that saw me and Phil Cartmell leave and the Easdales coming on. We don't know why they changed their mind.

"All we know is that they are a nominee name, this is Blue Pitch and Margarita Holdings, and have about 12% of the holding. We have demanded to know who they are and we have not been told.

"All we have got are the nominee names. And,

remember, if I am not being too technical here, the

nominee names can change beneficial owner.

"The big stick we have there is that if they will not tell us, the institutions can demand to know who they are and then, ultimately, if they don't tell us, those shares won't get a vote.

"If there is nothing to hide why on earth can't we be told? We just don't get it?"

Murray stressed the requisitioners were desperate to take control of Rangers and bring an end to club officials pocketing massive financial payouts.

He said: "What is going on is not encouraging, but the end of the tunnel is. I am at most games and I speak to fans and fans' leaders all the time.

"The supporters have been fantastic. They are the most educated fans on corporate

finance and governance of any crowd in the world. It is not a good place to be, but that is where they are."

MURRAY added: "What the group that I am involved in with Paul Murray is trying to do is change the board, create total transparency so there are no secrets, where every door is open.

"We want to create a culture where any employee of Rangers takes the attitude: 'What can we do for Rangers?' Whereas the attitude previously was: 'What can Rangers do for us?'

"In terms of trousering huge remuneration, walking off with huge payments, law suits, that sort of culture has got to go. We want people who are there not for the money. It has cost me a bloody fortune in the last year. Ask my wife!

"We want to get the commercial contracts optimised. We want big names on the shirt. And financial transparency is one of the biggest things we want."

Murray, meanwhile, has

dismissed growing speculation Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, who has a small shareholding in Rangers, could increase his stake in the Ibrox club in the future.

He said: "The rules of

football are complex. As far as I understand it, if you own an English Premier League club then you can't own more than 10% of a Scottish club.

"Unless he sells Newcastle he can't. But Mike Ashley is an eccentric, fast-moving guy, put it that way. I don't think he will, but what I would say is that the retail side of Rangers has not performed as well as we would have liked it to.

"I would rather he concentrated on getting that right. We have got Christmas coming up and other fans and I will be buying babies we know all sorts of kit."

Elsewhere, Murray has paid tribute to Rangers supporters' group the Sons of Struth for the campaign they have waged for change at boardroom level this season.

He said: "I want to thank all those fans who have worked tirelessly since the first game of the season, particularly people like the Sons of Struth. They have been fantastic.

"These guys do all this work for no money. They know what they want. They want a club they can believe in, that is run for the club."