Miller withdraws Rangers offer

Bill Miller withdrew his Rangers bid after fearing much-needed austerity measures would make him even more unpopular in an already “inhospitable” environment, according to one of his advisers.

Jon Pritchett, chief executive of Club 9 Sports, last night explained that Miller had discovered what he felt were years of mismanagement when he began his due diligence after being named preferred bidder on Thursday last.

The American businessman also baulked in the face of “vitriolic” emails from fans who feared his newco plan would lead to the liquidation of the original club, and general uncertainty surrounding a number of issues.

These included the future of players, who might not have been obliged to join his new company. Club 9 Sports were initially involved in a consortium with Miller before announcing they had pulled out but Pritchett said he was still personally advising his friend.

Pritchett said: “There were three contributing factors to his decision not to go forward.

“There are big legacy costs as a result of doing things poorly over a number of years. It would be a hard time turning things around and implementing structural changes and discipline. Such changes would have made Bill very unpopular given the way things have operated. The third was more about the environment. It was a fairly inhospitable environment for Bill.’’