The Ibrox club was this month taken off the market by owner Sir David Murray after failing to secure an offer in the best interests of the Glasgow giants.

Rangers director Dave King has since revealed fears of being plunged into administration had Walter Smith not secured the title last season.

The club is around £31million in debt but Findlay - now chairman of newly-promoted Irn-Bru First Division side Cowdenbeath - believes there is little chance of them ever going out of business.

He told BBC Scotland: "Rangers will always survive, there's no doubt of that, but this is not what it once was in terms of football generally.

"The Ibrox situation is symptomatic of the problems facing Scottish football.

"It is difficult to attract major sponsorship and the top-quality players that once came here. We are now living in a different world and we have to take a realistic approach to it."

A takeover had appeared to be on the cards when a consortium fronted by London-based property developer Andrew Ellis announced to the stock exchange they were in "advanced negotiations" to buy a controlling interest in Rangers.

However, the buy-out failed to materialise and the `for sale` signs were taken down a couple of weeks ago.

Findlay added: "It's the easiest thing in the world to buy a football club - then your problems start.

"Whatever you pay to get the football club, you need to have available at least twice as much again if you want to develop the club to take it forward.

"I'm afraid that, with the impact of the money down south in particular and in some of the major European clubs, football is not now a toy for millionaires - it's a plaything for billionaires and there are not too many of them around."