RANGERS interim chairman John Gilligan has urged Dave King to stop criticising the way the club is run, telling him to behave ‘like a proper shareholder’.
Based in South Africa, King claims the club are in crisis, launching a number of broadsides against the board of directors and offering to return as chairman after claiming the club required a cash injection of £50million to compete with Celtic.
John Bennett stepped down as club figurehead on health grounds two weeks ago. Part of the ‘Three Bears’ consortium which saw King swept to power in 2015, Gilligan was asked to step in as interim chairman and assist with the search for a new chief executive, a process which drew further criticism from King. Now exasperated by the sniping from the sidelines, Gilligan addressed the media directly yesterday, saying: ‘Has any director or any person at the club said anything about Dave? No.
John Gilligan (left), Dave King (centre) and Paul Murray joined the Rangers board back in 2015
Gilligan has taken over as interim chairman after John Bennett decided to stand down
‘Have they responded publicly? Will I say anything bad about Dave? No. Do I wish that he’d stop [airing his thoughts in public]? Yes.
‘Please take it below the radar. Behave like a proper shareholder. Don’t do what you’re doing. It’s a shame because he’s a great character and was a massive influence at the club at the time [of Rangers’ last league title success].’
King remains the largest individual shareholder with a 15-per-cent stake. While Rangers are willing to engage with their former chairman, King lacks the support of other leading shareholders such as Douglas Park, George Taylor, Bennett and Julian Wolhardt to secure a return at an EGM, with Gilligan claiming there was ‘no appetite’ for the move.
‘Dave is a major shareholder and he can say whatever he wishes to say,’ he continued. ‘My view is it’s a bit unrealistic. Dave is a real businessman. He knows how shareholdings work. He is a 15-per-cent shareholder, the other directors are 10, 12, 13 per cent shareholders. It is unrealistic.
‘If you look at what’s been said and what the guys have been saying, there’s a shareholder structure to the business, there’s a projection plan.
‘Again, it is a bit unrealistic because EGMs are invariably called by people who wish to change something. But the current board don’t wish to change. So why would we call an EGM?’
Rangers have agreed a fresh round of fundraising amongst existing investors, with Gilligan adding: ‘There is fresh investment coming into the club. In fairness, Dave is talking about fresh investment, but he doesn’t want to invest. I am not quite sure where he means the investment is going to come from. There will be investment.’
Despite widely known issues around building work on Ibrox, Bennett’s departure, a Champions league exit and Rangers sliding five points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the Premiership, Gilligan dismissed King’s claims of a crisis.
‘I think he has got it wrong,’ he said. ‘I think it is unfair. What exactly is he saying is not good?
‘What exactly is he saying is going wrong? Give us a plan and tell me. If Dave had some terrific plan to tell me where we are all going wrong then we would read that plan and we would consider it. I haven’t spoken to Dave. Dave gave me one of the happiest days of my life when he asked me to join him (on the board) 10 years ago and I will never forget it.
King has criticised the Ibrox board over the delayed refurbishment of the Copland Stand
‘Since then, I have met him, played golf and socialised when he has been over. But I haven’t heard from him, no.’
Asked if the criticism from the former chairman had destabilised operations inside Ibrox, the response was a shake of the head.
‘It’s only destabilising if the people who are the main shareholders and operating the business don’t have a plan and don’t have people in place to execute it,’ he said.
‘We have had difficulties recently with the stadium and things but destabilising?
No, not particularly.
‘Dave is entitled to say what he wants. It’s a free world.
But I don’t feel it’s destabilised at all, no.’