King In Talks With Rangers Chairman

Photo by Jeff Holmes Former oldco Rangers director Dave King has held talks with club chairman Sandy Easdale as he continues to push for control at Ibrox. The South African-based businessman is understood to have had a telephone discussion with Easdale on Tuesday after he and colleagues proposed a £16million cash injection that would avert another financial crisis and earn them control. A source close to Easdale described the talks as "amicable" but added that "many unanswered questions" remained. Easdale does not sit on the Rangers plc board but chairs the football club board and has voting rights over 26 per cent of the club's shares. The Greenock-based businessman, whose brother James is on the plc board, could therefore effectively veto any attempt to launch a share issue that would allow King to take charge. King was at Ibrox last week for talks with other members of the Ibrox board after launching a rescue package with a former colleague on the pre-liquidation board, Paul Murray, as well as shareholder George Letham, who loaned the club £1million earlier this year. Those discussions came shortly after Newcastle owner Mike Ashley increased his stake in Rangers to almost nine per cent, before launching a bid to have chief executive Graham Wallace and Philip Nash removed from the board. King might have to explain convictions for tax offences in South Africa to the Scottish Football Association, as part of its fit-and-proper-persons test, should he assume control of Rangers.