Ashley No "Threat" To King's Plans

New Rangers chairman Dave King insists the club are not at war with Mike Ashley - and says their troubles with the Newcastle chief are "just business".

King even believes the Light Blues faithful should be "grateful" for the handouts the Sports Direct boss has given the club in recent months.

The South Africa-based millionaire was speaking at Ibrox for the first time since being passed fit and proper by the Scottish Football Association on Tuesday.

He will officially take to the Gers throne on Friday when interim chairman Paul Murray vacates his role.

Once those ceremonies are complete, the 60-year-old will set about persuading Ashley to relax the terms of the commercial deal he has forced upon the Scottish giants which allows Sports Direct to swallow up 75 per cent of the club's retailincome.

But it will not be easy.

Murray has already failed in one effort to renegotiate that deal and Ashley - who owns just under nine per cent of Gers - has now called a general meeting to demand the repayment of a £5million loan handed to the club back in January.

While some have painted that move as a further entrenchment of a bitter cold war, King maintains Ashley poses no threat to his plans for the club.

Asked if he intended to repay the Ashley loan, the Castlemilk-born businessman - who is finally in full command of Rangers two and a half months after sweeping out the previous unpopular board at an extraordinary general meeting - said: "I would be surprised if that was to happen initially.

"I expect the general meeting to go ahead but it is a bit of a nonsense in a sense because the shareholders can't tell the board how to behave.

The board will make a decision in the best interests of the club.

"I would agree our relationship with Sports Direct and Mike Ashley is not great and it has to be dealt with. But I don't think it is terrible either.

"You have got a businessman who has been very, very aggressive.

"He has managed to put in place a deal which is very favourable to him.

But it is our job to see that the club's interests are protected.

It's a commercial relationship. It's really just business.

"It's not something that gets us particularly excited.

It's just about what is right for Rangers. There's nothing personal about it.

"I think ultimately he Ashley will be out of the picture but right now he has put money into the club and the club should be grateful for that, because, without the £5million loan, the club would be in some difficulties.

"The money was important to the club under the circumstances of that time.

"Given the changed circumstances where we are not trying to shrink the club - we are determined to take the club back to where it belongs - then in that context we have to change the relationship.

"But on a scale of one to 100, Ashley doesn't get up to one in terms of a threat."

Part of the new board's strategy will be to point out to Ashley that if he loosens the stranglehold he has on the income streams from kit sales and other merchandise, then they may be able to convince boycotting fans who have refused to buy official club products to think again.

"I made the point when I met Mike Ashley and his colleagues," Murray said.

"If you look back 15 years ago, Rangers were selling 500,000 shirts a year. Now selling less than 50,000 shirts.

"That's partly down to the market but it's also down to the fact fans have disengaged with the retail activity, believing that too much of the profits are going to parties outside the club."

Murray confirmed that the Three Bears group who handed a £1.5million interest-free loan to the club back in March had "invested" another similar sum in recent days.

Now King will be under pressure to stay true to his word and plough fresh cash into the club.

He believes it will take £30million to put Rangers on a level footing with the old rivals Celtic once they regain their top-flight status but, having lost £20million when the club was liquidated in 2012, the former oldco director will not skimp this time.

Asked how much will he plans to put into the club, King said: "I really don't have a figure. It is really going to depend on meeting the objectives of the club. "But I'm in a fortunate position where I am able to do it. I've already lost £20million. I'm expecting to invest more than that but it's not to a level that it's getting attention from my family that their future life is being threatened."