English outfit's fans show Gers supporters are not alone in times of trouble ... or in their wish to have a say in how their club is run

They know how Rangers supporters feel and can sympathise with the Ibrox club's plight and, like their Glasgow counterparts, are putting the wheels in motion to ensure their nightmare scenario never becomes a reality again.

The tale of Pompey's demise is a complicated and sorry affair, with the halcyon days that Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric delivered no more than distant memories.

While Gers fans direct their ire at Craig Whyte and former owner Sir David Murray, Pompey have a plethora of foreign businessmen, from Sacha Gaydamak and Balram Chainrai to Vladimir Antonov, the current incumbent, plus many more, to blame for their current plight.

Gone are talents such as Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Niko Kranjcar, with each sold off to ease pressure from banks who tried to claw back the mountain of debt that ultimately led to the Fratton Park club being placed into administration.

Rangers have not yet been forced to sell off their star names and could avoid the asset-stripping and steep decline that has left Pompey fighting for their npower Championship survival if a takeover can be completed to finally end the disastrous Whyte era.

Portsmouth entered administration for the second time just days after Rangers were placed in the hands of Duff and Phelps last month, leaving both clubs to battle for their very existence in the face of mounting problems.

"Our club has been a pawn in all of this," said Pompey Supporters' Trust spokesman Scott Mclachlan.

"Football being as unregulated as it is, that is how clubs can be treated. You wouldn't imagine any other sector in British business to be treated this way. Football is not unregulated so that is what happens.

"We have had accusations of cheating from other clubs and saying we deserve this, but I don't think any club that has had money poured into it from an owner is cheating."

He added: "That is the way football is built, if you want success you buy it. Man City are trying to do it, Man United have been doing it for years and Rangers and Celtic, because of their spending power, end up being in the top two positions and the rest struggle to compete. It is just the way football is."

As with Rangers, Ports-mouth's saviours could prove to be their fans, with moves in place to end the constant changing of foreign owners and give the Fratton Park faithful control over how their club is run.

The effects of administration have been debilitating for manager Michael Appleton and his squad, with several first-team players leaving the club in the days and weeks since they were placed under the control of administrator Trevor Birch.

But at Ibrox, former director Paul Murray has come to the fore with his Blue Knights consortium, bringing together wealthy Gers fans and supporters' groups in a bid to save the club. And while Murray faces competition from several parties across the globe, Mclachlan is confident that fan power will be the best way forward for crisis-hit clubs.

He said: "We are looking at trying to get Portsmouth stabilised and unfortunately that means shedding players left, right and centre.

"We are trying to get people to come and talk to us and work with us to get a community buy-out before the end of the season. We need to get some sort of funding into the club before the start of May.

"We are looking at high net worth individuals to give us significant funding so we can go to the fans and we know how much more we need.

"That puts all the money on the table and we can go from there. We have got a few weeks to work out a deal, because it looks as though the club have enough money to get to the end of the season.

"We are looking to form a Community Interest Company, which allows us to take money into a bank account and use that for a buy-out.

"We are hopefully getting everything sorted in the next week or so. We might have a Blue Knights scenario by the end of this month."

In the days that followed Rangers' plunge into administration, fears that the 140-year-old club could cease to exist grew amongst anxious fans as the true extent of the Gers' woes became apparent.

The death of Rangers and formation of a 'NewCo' would present a range of problems on and off the field, with even the future backing from the stands not guaranteed if fans were faced with the ultimate nightmare scenario.

Mclachlan said: "I don't know what the Scottish rules are but, in the English league, if we can get a viable business bid within 21 days of liquidation then it is considered a continued business and keeps the history.

"It doesn't matter whether a new club is created, it is whether it feels the same.

"Some Pompey fans have been quite open in saying that if the club goes under and a new one is formed that they wouldn't follow it.

"That might be a knee-jerk reaction and, when they are faced with shopping with the wife or going to see a reformed Portsmouth on a Saturday, they might change their mind.

"It is a difficult question for fans. I would see it as the same club, but I would understand people who don't."