Defiant John Gilligan has urged Dave King to call it quits with his “unrealistic” bid to return to the club as chairman.
Former chairman King took a series of shots at the Ibrox board last week as he went on the offensive after offering to return to Ibrox and replace John Bennett, who was forced to resign as chairman this week on health grounds. In a blistering address, the South Africa-based businessman rubbished the board and challenged them to allow the support to vote for who runs the club at an EGM. He even claimed Steven Gerrard was ‘kicked out’ of Rangers.
The Rangers high-ups had maintained a silence on the escalating calls for change from King, but speaking for the first time since replacing Bennett, the new interim Ibrox chairman Gilligan was quizzed on the prospect of a return. He said: “Dave is a shareholder and can say whatever he wishes. My own view is that it’s a bit unrealistic. Dave is a real businessman and he knows how shareholdings work. With a 15 per cent shareholding and our other shareholders have 10, 12, 13 per cent shareholdings, it’s unrealistic.”
Pressed on the EGM, he said: “EGM’s are called by people who want to change something. The current board don’t want to change, so why would we call an EGM?”
Gilligan went on: “I’m trying to think, has any person at the club said anything about Dave? No. Have they responded publicly to enter a negotiation? No. Will I ever say anything bad about Dave? No. But to answer your question do I wish he would stop – yes. Yes. I would just say take it below the radar. Behave like a proper shareholder. Don’t do what you are doing. It’s a shame because he is a real character and had a massive influence on the club at the time and I will always respect that.”
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