Keith Jackson has delivered an ominous warning to Steven Gerrard about what is going on behind the scenes at Ibrox.
Directors have poured in fortunes to stop Celtic while finding a stream of mystery investors happy to keep the lights on to stop 10-in-a-row.
Reaching the group stage of the Champions League would have eased some of the pressure on over-spending by £2m a month but Malmo put paid to that prospect last week as Gerrard accused his players of showing fear and panic.
Those emotions are now running through the blue room of unsurpassed dignity with the pressure on Ross Wilson to raise £20m while not upsetting the club manager.
With virtually no interest in last season’s Behind-Closed-Doors champions it could be a long cold winter at Ibrox as the board try to keep the lights on while sustaining the ambitions of Mister Gerrard.
After questioning the commitment and bravery of Gerrard’s main players, Jackson tells Daily Record readers:
Gerrard may also be wondering if there are others inside the building, those positioned higher up the stairs, who are not necessarily all pulling in the same direction.
Does Gerrard believe he has the full backing of the boardroom now £40million worth of UEFA’s loot has failed to drop into the club’s bank account?
Or, worse still, does he suspect the men in charge were already rubbing their hands at the thought of cashing in on some of his key men and selling them from beneath his feet even before a ball was kicked in those back to back defeats against the Swedes?
Of course, these are just the kind of questions which haven’t been allowed to be asked inside the closed shop inner sanctum of Auchenhowie, so the rest of us are left to speculate out loud.
It would also be interesting to know the current state of Gerrard’s relationship with sporting director Ross Wilson, who may feel as if he’s been jammed between a rock and a hard place.
If Wilson is coming under pressure from his superiors to raise funds before the transfer window closes for business, then Gerrard’s reluctance to sanction sales is likely to have caused some friction behind the scenes.
And if Gerrard has reason to believe Wilson was busy soliciting offers for the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent behind his back even before the club’s Champions League fate was sealed, it might explain why the boss has looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders since the season began.
Trust? Gerrard may feel as if he’s dealing with second-hand car salesmen no matter where he turns. He’ll have to check to make sure his watch is still on his wrist after every handshake.
And all of this comes at a time when the men who are supposed to be calling the shots are disappearing down a labyrinth of rabbit holes, attempting to settle all manner of scores the vast majority of which exist only inside their own minds.
On the face of it, none of these petty squabbles are any of Gerrard’s concern even if the former Liverpool and England captain must be scratching his head at the myopic, mean-spirited and small-time mentality of a club which has developed an unhealthy sense of paranoia.
But if he suspects his team is being undermined from within as a consequence of the decisions which are being made higher up the ladder, then he’d have every right to feel aggrieved.
After Friday’s win over Dunfermline Gerrard sent out Gary McAllister to be interviewed by Premier Sports followed by soft questions by the media outlets that have paid up for pre and post match access.
On the plus side Ryan Jack is due to resume training in 7-10 days creating the potential for a dream-ticket midfield partnership with John Lundstram.