THE message from Kris Boyd is that he was, and is, prepared to play for Rangers for nothing.
The unbidden, unworthy thought is that he might yet have to.
The Ibrox financial story rolls along like a juggernaut with no brakes heading for a fireworks factory. An appeal will be held today on the ruling to ringfence £620,000 of Rangers funds in a civil case involving Imran Ahmad, the former director of the club. Told last week that Rangers had £1.2m in the bank, Lord Stewart said: "I have formed the view that there is a risk of Rangers becoming insolvent."
Boyd, once the Marcel Marceau of footballing interviewees, is now similarly outspoken. The striker is now a straightshooter when it comes to fielding inquiries.
He was open yesterday on Rangers and the irrelevance of his pay level, the pressure on his manager and his hopes of playing once again for Scotland. "I'm a player. I go in, train, go home, come back the next day and play games. That's all I can do," said Boyd of his focus as the financial maelstrom buffets the club once again.
He pointed out, too, that money was not his priority. "I would have walked through the doors for nothing because I wanted to play for this club," he said of his decision to sign for Rangers in the summer.
"I wanted the jersey back on. I don't want to sound smart or ignorant, but whatever I earn between now and the end of my career is not going to change the way I live. I've managed my finances over the past few years to get what I hope for me and my family going forward is correct. Whatever I do between now and then is a matter of getting myself back enjoying the game."
Boyd, now 31, has enjoyed a lucrative career with spells at Rangers. Middlesbrough and Portland Timbers as well as his two periods with Kilmarnock. His drive is now to make the most of the years remaining on the pitch and his attitude and aptitude for Kilmarnock last season were both exemplary.
The move to Rangers has now introduced him to the world of financial speculation and boardroom machinations. He is unfussed by its repercussions.
"Until someone sits down and speaks to you then you can't involve yourself too much. I'm not a politician who can sit down and say he knows everything about business or what's going on. I don't. I won't sit and tell people I know this or that," he said.
The way forward is simple for Boyd. "The fans deserve a team on the pitch winning game. We know if we train properly and put in performances we've done our part. It's all we can do. We put on a performance and hopefully it brings a smile to faces and hopefully we can win games of football."
He added: "It's easy to use excuses of the off-field problems, but it's just an excuse because you are not in control of it. What you are in control of is going in, training properly, playing games properly and winning."
He was blunt about the strain on Ally McCoist and impressed by the manager's ability to deal with it. "It can't have been enjoyable when you see some of the things which have been said and done. It's not been enjoyable for a Rangers fan reading it, never mind someone with the stature the manager has at the club," he said.
"When you start reading a few things, you can take them personally and it's difficult to deal with. If there is any man who has the drive and determination to do it, it's the manager. He'll be the first to admit he would have liked to have been on the training field more with the players over the past couple of years, but circumstances have dictated what has gone on.
"I'm sure he'll be looking forward to getting through this problem, getting this team on the pitch winning games and getting club back to the top where it belongs and deserves to be."
The matter of reclaiming lost glory has a resonance too for Boyd.
"I'd be lying if I sat here and said I wasn't looking to get back in a Scotland jersey," he said. "The next one is at Ibrox and it would be a special occasion to play there with Scotland," he added of the match against Georgia on October 11.
"But we've got other problems, we've to get on the pitch and play and win games for Rangers, that's our main aim right now.
"There's no point me sitting here trying to sell myself to Gordon Strachan, he knows what I can do and knows what I can't do.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again if I'm playing regularly and scoring goals I don't really think there is anybody better at finishing in Scotland."
n Kris Boyd was speaking at the launch of Maggie's as the Rangers Charity Foundation's national charity partner for season 2014/15 in memory of Sandy Jardine. Maggie's offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends.
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