Barry Ferguson takes on Dave King over 3 Rangers demands as he pinpoints key ultimatum facing Ibrox board
Passionate Barry Ferguson insists Rangers face a big call on if they appoint a CEO before the arrival of a new chairman as he broke down Dave King's latest address.
The former chairman – who was in charge between 2015 and 2020 – has been making his voice heard in recent months and now has stated his intention to return after John Bennett 's exit from the club. While John Gilligan has stepped in to replace Bennett on a temporary basis, South African businessman King is convinced Rangers need new leadership with a long-term plan and he is proposing he steers the ship for the first two years of that.
King took to the airwaves as he continued his pitch to make a comeback to the Rangers boardroom as he discussed a series of issues he wants to tackle with Jim White on talkSPORT. They peaked the interest of Ibrox icon Ferguson.
READ MORE:Dave King set for Rangers rejection as directors decide against Ibrox board invite
Ferguson first responded to King's plan to only stay in the top job for two years, telling Go Radio: "I seen that it would only be for a couple of years, and wouldn't be a long-term plan. At this moment in time John Gilligan has stepped in and we just need to see what will arise with John Bennett stepping down for health reasons."
He noted that he would like to see Gilligan make the call over James Bisgrove's successor - after the previous chief executive made the move to the Saudi Pro League: "What I do know is Rangers need a chairman in place pretty soon and a CEO - they are the most important person at the club. While John has stepped in as a caretaker that will be one of his main priorities."
Responding to King's claim that someone needs to find out "what is actually going on" behind the scenes at Ibrox and that they must appoint someone with Rangers' connections quickly, Ferguson agreed: "At Rangers it's not a case that you can wait months.
"I think this needs to get sorted pretty quickly because it's a role that is the most important - the leader at the club - and that is a chairman and just below him is the CEO, which Rangers have been without since James Bisgrove left. In the coming weeks I fully expect Rangers to have somebody. It has to be somebody that has worked in the industry before but it also has to be someone that has a connection. I think that's important."
King named one of the objectives of securing investors during the two-year time period he pitched, and Ferguson rounded off: "It is clear that they need to find an investor. Whether that is from Britain or from abroad, who knows, but that is the role of a chairman and CEO when they come in - to find new fresh investment to help the club move forward.
"One thing I'm sure about is it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. John needs to come in and steady the ship and I'm sure there is a hell of a lot of work going on to ensure the best leaders (arrive) at the at the club."