Douglas Park update emerges as Dave King wants top Rangers job - report

Douglas Park is expected to oppose Dave King returning as Rangers chairman in the wake of John Bennett’s resignation, the Daily Record reports.

According to the paper’s website on 16 September King is “likely” to face opposition to landing the job from “ally-turned-foe” Park, after pitching himself for a two-year stint.

The Gers announced on 14 September that Bennett has stepped down on health grounds.

South Africa-based King is the club’s largest shareholder with 14 per cent, and has talked up the prospect of bringing in outside investment from Saudi Arabia or the US if he returns to the hot seat, which he held between 2015 and 2020.

John Gilligan is temporary Rangers chairman

Former director John Gilligan has stepped in an interim appointment after Bennett’s exit, in just the most recent emergency move at the top of the club’s hierarchy.

Bennett only took over as chair when Park resigned somewhat suddenly in April 2023, shortly before Stewart Robertson left as CEO.

He was then forced to also act as interim chief executive when James Bisgrove left even more abruptly after less than a year as Robertson’s successor earlier this summer.

So there might be strong arguments in favour of King coming back in right now given the leadership vacuum at Ibrox and the desperate need for stability.

But the last thing the club needs in the circumstances is a power struggle at the top if Park is expected to oppose him.

Bennett’s search for a new CEO hasn’t gone smoothly after Jim Gillespie turned down the role despite being in advanced talks [Daily Mail, 10 September].

So progress needs to be made on that front alongside a longer-term solution as chair than Gilligan, while it can’t be forgotten Rangers never replaced Ross Wilson as sporting director since he left for Nottingham Forest last year, or Zeb Jacobs as academy head after he moved to Feyenoord late last season.

It is surely no coincidence that fortunes on the pitch have been poor when there has been such a high level of turnover in key positions through successive manager’s tenures.

The Light Blues are thought to have no choice but to stick with Philippe Clement [Hugh Keevins, 14 September] currently so if they want to give the Belgian proper backing a proper framework around him must be set up.

In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton couldn’t believe it when a senior Gers player was accused of being soft live on Sky Sports.

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