DAVE KING has revealed the Rangers board could endorse a new kit this summer as he seeks a resolution to the ongoing retail wrangle at Ibrox.
Gers fans have refused to buy official merchandise in recent years in protest at the controversial deal in place with Sports Direct. In May last year, Rangers announced that they had terminated their agreements with Rangers Retail Limited with immediate effect.
The ongoing battle has denied the Gers much-needed revenue as both parties have refused to back down and chairman King has become embroiled in a lengthy legal war with billionaire businessman Mike Ashley.
Supporters will hold off parting with their cash until the Ibrox board say so, but any new deal will only be approved if the terms vastly favour Rangers and allow them to make the most of a vital income stream.
King said: “I just think most of the supporters, if we go along to them and say ‘we now have a good deal, this is the basis of the deal’, and we explained the deal to them and the board made the decision to back the deal, I think the supporters would back it. Some might not but I think a large, large proportion, by far the largest proportion, would love to be able to go and buy Rangers kit but will not do so unless this board says to them we have a deal we believe works for the club.
“We could have done it differently, we could have put a deal in place which was better for the club than the existing deal but it still wasn’t right for the club. We are holding on for something that’s right and when we do get it right we will say that to supporters. There’s no reason why it wouldn’t include Sports Direct at that point because Sports Direct in my view would be commercially naïve to completely walk away.
“There has to be something in it for us. The question is, can we leave something in it for them when it’s still largely in favour of the club and I don’t think that’s impossible.
“I think it can be done soon. I’m optimistic for pre-season.
“All I can really say is that I do believe there is a possibility that pre-season we might be able to do a proper kit launch that we can endorse and that will have the support of all the fans. I do believe that is possible for pre-season.”
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