Steven Gerrard was 'kicked out' of Rangers as former club chief lifts lid on exit

Steven Gerrard left Rangers in 2021 and joined Aston Villa.

Al-Shabab v Al-Ettifaq: Saudi Pro League

Steven Gerrard is now coaching in Saudi Arabia. (Image: Getty)

Dave King, the man who set Rangers on the path to their 55th title, has expressed concern that the directors he left in charge at Ibrox are paving the way for Celtic to march towards their 57th title and beyond - with former head coach Steven Gerrard 'kicked out'.

King successfully wrestled control of the Light Blues from Mike Ashley in 2015, with the primary goal being to halt the Hoops' pursuit of 10 consecutive titles. It took six years, but the Gers finally triumphed over their fierce rivals when Gerrard's Invincibles secured the championship the Ibrox faithful had been yearning for.

However, King was not present at Ibrox to witness the jubilant celebrations. He had stepped down the previous year to safeguard his South African businesses from the Covid pandemic.

Having seen what he and Gerrard both believed was an opportunity to reassert Rangers as the country's leading force squandered, the Castlemilk-born tycoon believes it's time for those he holds responsible for allowing Celtic - who clinched their 54th title last season to close in on Rangers' title record - to step aside.

In a scathing critique, King lambasted: "The faceless names on the present board have presided over the hollowing out of our club. The significant cash received from supporters and from the sale of Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo, and Nathan Patterson have been wasted on the poor recruitment of managers and players, poor cost control and oversight of infrastructure projects which severely compromised Champions League participation this year.

"Yet those same faceless people want the chance to do it all again. When John Bennett took over he tried to turns things around - but had no human or financial resources to support him.

"It's amazing that the same people who got us into this trouble want to continue control by placing, as a professional chairman, their own puppet - who will have no knowledge of the club or financial interest in its future. We are sleepwalking Celtic towards 55, 56 and 57 instead of trying to stop them. This board will go down as an infamy in the club's history."

Merely six months after guiding the team to a coveted championship win, Gerrard was enticed away by the Premier League allure of Aston Villa. However, King is adamant that Gerrard's departure was not voluntary.

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Dave King and Douglas Park are clashing in full view of the Rangers support (Image: PA Images)

"Steven was absolutely was kicked out," he declared. "I have no doubts about that. Steven did not want to leave at that point in time. He would have left, but not then.

"It's absolutely true that we went backwards from that point. It was the ethos, the standards, everything about the club that Steven instilled. Then we started to go down from there."

King has unleashed his most scathing critique yet on Douglas Park, accusing him of only surfacing sporadically to remind fans whom he blames for Rangers' current predicaments.

King has lashed out at the other directors for their lack of action as the club faced a tumultuous summer, which saw them temporarily relocate to Hampden, suffer an expensive Champions League exit, and endure a crushing defeat in the Old Firm derby, leaving Philippe Clement's squad trailing Celtic by five points early in the season.

He continued: "I have repeatedly said that we as shareholders are only custodians of the club for its true 'owner' - the supporters. I do not believe that the supporters can have any confidence in the present board to turn things around.

"The complete lack of leadership of this faceless crew is most clearly demonstrated by the simple fact that not one of them was willing to show their face by stepping in as interim chair when John stepped down due to ill health. Shame on them!

"Lurking in the shadows in a time of need is not the Rangers way and that is why I have again offered to assist. If there is a better option I would support that. But I cannot support a leaderless, rudderless board that is in a crisis of its own making."

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