Rangers: Ashley's allies confirm they are staying put as board claims second tranche of Sports Direct loan

In a statement, the board said: "The directors believe that they have at all times sought to act in the best interests of Rangers for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole and refute in the strongest possible terms any suggestion that this is not the case and in particular any suggestion that they have given their personal interests priority over those of the company.

"By remaining in post the directors wish to give the company and possible incoming directors (should the board change) the best possible chance of complying with the AIM rules and of avoiding the risk highlighted in the circular of  February 6,  2015 of the Company's shares being suspended. There can be no guarantee of avoiding suspension.

"The board have reached out to David King in recent days to seek a resolution in the best interests of the Club but regrettably this has not yet proved possible. If control of the board of directors of the Company changes as a result of the general meeting the directors pledge that they will do their utmost to work with the new board in the interests of Rangers Football Club, as they have done and continue to do."

The board said that at the current time a significant number of shares have not yet been voted so "the outcome cannot therefore be determined with certainty".

The board said that at the current time a significant number of shares have not yet been voted so "the outcome cannot therefore be determined with certainty".

In a move that would add to the debt owed to Ashley, who has a security over club assets and its trademarks, the board announced they were in the process of drawing down a further £5 million for working capital.

The board said it was needed in order to meet its cash requirements for the third week of March.

A statement read: "Shareholders should be aware that there are other conditions of drawdown which include a material and adverse change and/or significant, adverse event condition  which could impact upon the willingness of SD to release the funds. If the funds are not able to be drawn down from the Facility, alternative sources of external funding will be required."

The initial £10 million loan facility from Sports Direct was set up to prevent the Rangers business suffering an insolvency and omitted any requirement to have a security over Ibrox - preferring instead to target the Murray Park training ground and other properties including trademarks.  

While £5m will be available to the club as immediate working capital, it will also be used to repay a £3m loan made by the Newcastle United owner last year.

As part of the loan deal, Rangers are also giving Ashley, for the duration of the loan, a further 26% of shares in Rangers Retail Limited, 49% of which was already owned by the English businessman.

Ashley also has rights to two representatives on the Rangers International Football Club plc board.

Earlier today, King claimed a"landslide victory" in his bid to claim control of the club.

The South African-based tycoon said that all his resolutions had now been passed and there is no need for Friday's EGM to take place.

King spoke after Rangers chairman David Somers resigned.

King claimed Llambias had told him that he had the votes needed to take control of the Ibrox boardroom.

He said: "All of the Rangers directors that are subject to my requisition have now accepted that my resolutions have been successful and there is now no need for the general meeting to proceed. Mr Llambias put it best by advising me that I had achieved a "landslide" victory.

"I wish to thank all shareholders, and particularly the fans, for this resounding success. The future now looks more recognisable for all Rangers stakeholders.

"James Easdale and David Somers did the right thing by resigning however the two appointees of Mr Ashley have stubbornly refused to resign and are using their current position (as remaining directors) to withhold implementation of the resolutions for personal gain. I attach a copy of my email to them in this regard.

"Now that the incoming board and I can focus on the future I will issue a further press statement outlining the immediate and intermediate steps that we have to take as we commence the road to re-establishing Rangers to the institution that its legacy demands."

King still faces questions over whether he is a fit and proper person to have a major role at Rangers, however, due to tax convictions in South Africa.

In 2013, Mr King settled a 12-year-long income tax dispute in South Africa after pleading guilty to, and being convicted of, breaching 41 criminal counts of the country's Income Tax Act. He agreed to pay £45 million as a settlement and fraud charges against him were not pursued.

The board raised questions of his suitability, partly related to the directors' previous advice from their stock exchange nominated adviser (Nomad) that there would be a "material adverse impact" on the company's stock market listing if King is appointed to the board. Nomads are the primary regulators of any company floated on the Aim stock exchange.

King has previously dismissed the idea that he is not a fit and proper person to take a place in the boardroom, saying his settlement with the authorities in South Africa provided him with a "unique status of credibility".

However, the board of the club holding company Rangers International Football Club plc has said that if King were to succeed, Manchester-based stockbroker WH Ireland would resign as Nomad to the company and shares would be suspended from trading immediately.

The board has said it believes there can be no guarantee that a new Nomad would be appointed and without that the company would no longer be traded on any Stock Exchange, making raising capital "both more difficult and more expensive".

King has said his discussions about appointing a new Nomad after the EGM indicated that they "other than the normal due diligence - have no concerns about that".

The existing directors have previously asked what action Mr King intends to take "to avoid the suspension of the company from trading on the London Stock Exchange, and the subsequent risk of being delisted from trading should shareholders vote him onto the board, as previously outlined".

King, who has control over 14.6 per cent of RIFC won an EGM vote to decide whether the current board should remain. He wanted to replace them with himself and associates Paul Murray and John Gilligan.

It is understood that King had been "disappointed" that Somers would remain as a director until March 6, the date of the EGM to ensure director appointments could be made without the cost of a meeting.

Somers is said to have left following discussions with Leach and Llambias.

King then called for Leach and Llambias to resign to avoid "wasted" costs associated with the EGM.

In an email to Llambias and Leach on Tuesday morning King said: "You have not engineered an outcome whereby I require your co-operating to implement the requisitioned changes without the need for wasted costs and are using this in an attempt to extract a profitable exit from the company.  I make it clear yesterday that I am not amenable to that.

"I point out to you both that your fiduciary responsibilities as directors of the company cannot be exercised to your personal advantage.  I call on you to immediately implement the appointment of directors as discussed with WH Ireland followed immediately by your resignations.

"If you fail to do so and costs are incurred on the now unnecessary general meeting, you will be jointly responsible in your personal capacity for such wasted costs.

"Your attempts to resign from your management functions can only be dealt with after the changes to the board have been made and there is authority on both sides to act on any decision reached.

"Given the urgency (caused by your failure to act as your co-directors did) I call on you to immediately, on receipt of this email, confirm that you will proceed as requested. This should have happened last week."