Dave King's consortium wins control of Rangers boardroom

Dave King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan have succeeded in being voted on to the Rangers board at Friday's extraordinary general meeting at Ibrox.

Shareholders at the meeting called by King, who owns 14.5% of shares in Rangers International Football Club plc, voted Derek Llambias and finance director Barry Leach off the board.

King's consortium received about 85% of the votes cast.

And the new board has already appointed shareholder Douglas Park as a director.

David Somers, who was chairman, and James Easdale had already resigned from the board before the EGM.

King addressed fans after being voted on to the board and said the EGM was a "turning point in the future of the club".

And later, he said: "We want Rangers to get back to being in its rightful place in Scottish football.

"The club is pretty much broken. It's broken in many areas. Pretty much everything has to be looked at.

"There will be other appointments. The fans' groups have been absolutely superb. We think that should be recognised. We want to work with fans in terms of getting representation on the board."

And Murray added: "We'll take time to build the board out. We're not involved in short-term fixing."

Murray also addressed the issue of appointing a new manager.

Ally McCoist is on gardening leave after leaving the post late last year and caretaker Kenny McDowall is working his year-long notice period.

"We're laying the foundation for a long-term project here and appointing a first-team manager is a crucial decision," said Murray.

"We're going to take some time and get it right."

Outgoing chief executive Llambias and Leach are associates of Sports Direct and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, who was this week fined £7,500 by the Scottish Football Association for breaching rules on dual ownership.

He has loaned £10m to the club and holds lucrative commercial contracts relating to its business.

Llambias and Leach still have executive employment contracts at Rangers.

King was confident ahead of the vote that he had enough votes for a simple majority to have the five resolutions passed - two for the removal of Llambias and Leach, who were not present at the meeting, and one each for the appointment of King himself, Murray and Gilligan.

And his chances were boosted when it emerged that the bloc of shareholders represented by Sandy Easdale, chairman of the club's football board, abstained from the vote.

It was initially thought they would use their combined share of a little more than 20% to vote against the King consortium.

Many shareholders had voted by post or by proxy since the EGM was originally due to be held in London.

That decision prompted a backlash and the two hotels chosen to host pulled out.

King, an ex-pat Glaswegian who lives in South Africa, had appealed for shareholders attending the meeting to act "with calmness and dignity". He was applauded as he took his seat in the stand.

Rangers fans gather outside Ibrox

Rangers will also have to appoint a new nominated advisor - the company that manages Rangers International Football Club's listing on the Alternative Investment Market.

The company's previous 'nomad', WH Ireland, resigned ahead of the EGM, which resulted in the shares being suspended.

A new nomad must be appointed within 30 days or the company will be de-listed from the Stock Exchange.

King has stated Rangers need more than £20m invested in the near future to get the club into a competitive position.

The team currently sit third in the Scottish Championship and the play-offs appear to be their best hope for promotion, with leaders Hearts on course for the title.