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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Keith Jackson

Rangers are eating themselves alive with petty Dave King and Douglas Park boardroom squabble - Keith Jackson

Maybe it’s time for Douglas Park and Dave King to settle things by whipping them out on the Ibrox boardroom table.

And then, once they’ve finally established which of them has the biggest chip on his shoulder, both men ought to leave by the nearest exit, preferably taking their tone-deaf head of communications with them.

As a matter of fact, the more Rangers eat themselves alive in full view the harder it becomes to make a decent argument for any of the main protagonists surviving this unedifying PR disaster.

What began with an ill thought out money-making scheme to pimp the Old Firm derby Down Under has mutated into a full scale revolt with Park and King now openly clubbing one another over the head with their own egos.

If they paused for just a moment to consider the reputational damage they are wreaking on their own club then surely they would do the right thing and call some sort of truce.

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

But it seems as if these men are so wrapped up in their own self-importance they have lost any sense of perspective.

King probably thought he was pulling some kind of flanker last week when allowed his latest cash offer to become public knowledge.

He wanted it to be known that he is prepared to stump up as much as £3million to cover the cost of ripping up the contract to participate in big Ange Postecoglou’s flying circus but, not for the first time, his actions were disingenuous at best.

His offer to bail out the board was little more than a crass publicity stunt aimed at causing Park as much discomfort as possible.

The relationship between this pair has broken down to such an extent King calculated there was never any realistic chance of having to part with any of his money and, predictably enough, Park duly played his part by booting it straight into touch.

In doing so, Park effectively stated that he would rather do business with his club’s biggest rivals than allow King back into his inner sanctum.

But the sheer pettiness of this unseemly squabble belongs more to the playground than the boardroom.

If only there was an executive worthy of the name then Park and King might be reined in and told to put the club’s best interests before those of their own. But don’t hold your breath waiting for managing director Stewart Robertson to intervene or to suddenly find his voice amidst all this tub-thumping and bloodletting.

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Robertson knows better than to pipe up and put his own lucrative position in harm’s way.

So it will have to be left to someone else to grow a set and start knocking heads together for the sake of a club which ought to be riding on the crest of a wave right now rather than drowning in a pool of its own bad blood.

Commercial director James Bisgrove is another who has gone missing in action ever since penning the controversial deal for a few dingo dollars more.

And that’s probably for the best. When Bisgrove did open his mouth he actually managed to make a bad situation even worse by blaming fans for overreacting while also pointing out that the decision to go Down Under was not just his idea but that it was signed off with the unanimous approval of the entire board.

Now there’s a real team player right there.

Of course, Bisgrove may well have been acting on the advice of the club’s error-prone PR man David Graham and, if that’s the case, then more fool him.

Presumably, it was Graham who then clattered out an official statement last week in which the club appeared to be threatening its own supporters.

“The collective desire of our board, management and players, is to have unity of purpose over the coming months,” it read, before adding, rather ominously, “Rest assured, we will address the disruptors and their propaganda war at the end of this season.”

It truly beggars belief the club should sanction such an aggressive, high and mighty stance against its own fans.

And especially when there are so many positives for them to be fixating over on the pitch with two domestic trophies and European silverware still up for grabs. But if the hired help can’t be trusted to sort this mess out then perhaps there are others inside the Rangers boardroom who recognise the need to take the bull by its horns and who are not afraid to do so.

Because while Park and King are busy wrecking the place, what must vice chairman John Bennett or prolific investors such as Barry Scott and George Letham make of the damage which is being done?

As credible, astute businessmen they must be tearing their hair out at this amateurishness and perhaps this is a moment for some of these guys to step out from the shadows and provide some much-needed leadership.

Certainly, it’s difficult to see how the current regime can remain in place given the shambolic chain of events.

And Bennett and Scott will know too Rangers need the rabble-rousing King back like they need a hole in the head. There has to be a better solution. And perhaps the answer already lies within.

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