In the wake of John Bennett standing down as Rangers chairman, shareholder and former Gers chief Dave King has spoken publicly at the situation at Ibrox – and has put forward a plan that would see him return to power for two years.
Castlemilk-born King, who is now based in South Africa, believes he is the right man to come back in as chairman, with John Gilligan currently holding the fort following Bennett’s decision to quit on health grounds.
King spoke on Sunday evening on his plans and thoughts on all things Rangers – we break down the key points for you here:
“I think I might be the best person to do it for two years. I don’t want to do it for four or five years. But I know the club well enough and I do think it’s a two-year job. I wouldn’t be looking to invest more money in the club. I don’t think that’s the way forward for the club.
“I think there’s investor fatigue within existing board members. So I think the way forward is in fact for us to attract additional investment. There is some interest in the club at the moment, but I think we’ve got to get away from the model where we just rely on supporters writing out cheques.
“There is money out there, but that money is not going to come from Rangers. We need to go and find other investors and bring them into the club. And I think that’s what we plan for the next two years.
“I’d be willing to do it. I understand what’s involved. I’ll come in, stabilise it, get the right people in place, get the club working properly, at least give it direction, give it a plan. But part of that will be for me to find new investors who will come in and make a significant investment in the club.
“I believe in chats that I’ve had there’s enough of an investor interest in those areas who are investing. Saudi, obviously, where Steven Gerrard is at the moment. There’s a lot of interest in football there. There’s a lot of interest in America still where they see football, sports generally, as being good.
“Rangers are a far more attractive opposition, a far more attractive opportunity than, say, Sunderland or Brighton. We’re going to be in Europe and with the right amount of money, we really should be able to march on and actually dominate in Scotland.
“We need people at this stage that understand the club, understand the operations, are willing to take it on. My thoughts have always been not to do it, as I felt I’d done nothing and I’d done my crisis.
“Quite frankly, I didn’t expect a crisis to happen again in my lifetime. But a stranger can’t come in. There’s no point in getting a guy from London and paying him £200,000 a year to be the chairman of the club. So I’ve rethought it.”
“I’m sad it’s come to this, but I have mixed feelings. I’ve got, at a very personal level, a sense of relief because I have been speaking to John fairly regularly over the last couple of months. I understand his position and I’ve been offering him personal support because I know what he’s going through. Being chairman of Rangers is an incredibly difficult task.
“I’ve sat on many public company boards, a lot bigger than Rangers, and it’s just completely different. It’s not about governance, it’s not about the things that a non-exec board member would expect to find at a club. So I think John was having to deal with the legacy that he picked up.
“When John took over as chairman, I don’t think he expected to find what he did and have to deal with such a lack of operational support. The club had been hollowed out. There was no management support, there was no operational support. I think John went into that situation because, on a personal basis, he loves the club. You can’t doubt that for a moment. He’s invested very heavily into the club, probably way beyond his original intentions. So I had a huge amount of empathy for what he was going through on a personal basis.
“I know it was affecting his health and I totally understand that because the pressure is enormous. It does get to you. It doesn’t just stay in your mind, it can translate to your body, that’s the reality of it. So I was constantly saying to him, ‘John, just be careful because you’re not well and you’ve got to look after your health and your family as well’. The club is the club.
“So I’m pretty sure he’s got it right because it does get to a point where the club’s current situation is really not fixable. It’s not as if you can sit there and say, ‘Well, OK, I’m going to tough it out, there is a plan in place and there is a way forward’. At this moment I don’t think there is a way forward. So it’s in John’s personal interest for him to leave now.
“He has been incapacitated with his health, in terms of having the energy, having the health to do what’s got to be done. It was right that he steps down. And on a personal basis I’m pleased for him and his family that he’s done that.
“I think it also protects his legacy at the club because I think his is a good one. He initially came into the club at my invitation. He invested, he’s been a passionate Rangers supporter and he was a great supporter to me during my time on the board when tough decisions had to be made.
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