South Africa-based King, the only survivor from the Sir David Murray era on the board, left Ibrox in the same car as McCoist.
King has previously admitted he considered launching his own takeover bid before Murray sold his shares to Craig Whyte for £1. He was put off by the demands of Lloyds Banking Group.
The Glasgow-born businessman was also linked with another potential bid from director Paul Murray, who quickly expressed interest in forming a takeover consortium after Rangers went into administration on Valentine's Day.
King, who has been involved in a long-running dispute with the South African tax authorities, was reported to be on the verge of being removed from his position just before the club appointed administrators. However, he remains on the board as a non-executive director.
There was no comment from Rangers or the administrator on the latest talks as officials from Duff and Phelps continue to probe the financial dealings surrounding Whyte's takeover and subsequent running of the club.
There have been no job cuts announced although one player is on his way out of Ibrox after the club accepted an offer from South Korean club Busan I'Park for Australian midfielder Matt McKay, with negotiations ongoing.
The administrators and Whyte himself yesterday confirmed that a £24million cash injection from investment firm Ticketus, based on advance season ticket sales, had been used to pay off the £18million Lloyds debt.
On Wednesday, it emerged that Rangers, under Whyte, had sold shares gifted to them by Arsenal in the 1930s for around £230,000.
Supporters are still digesting the lengthy statement issued by Whyte on Tuesday, in which he also announced plans to step down as chairman and possibly "gift" fans the majority of his shares.
Andy Kerr, president of the Rangers Supporters Assembly, is keen for supporters to have more involvement in running the club's affairs, but not with Whyte.
Kerr said: "We are keen to listen to proposals from people who are interested in taking the club forward, particularly if the proposals have fan involvement.
"It's difficult to break it down into specific details but we have always been huge stakeholders in buying season tickets and merchandise.
"It would be good to harness that into some influence over the governance process and be better placed to avert the situation that has just happened.
"You look around Europe and there is some good, sound basis for doing that."
Whyte has already taken a step back but any involvement in the club after the administration process is complete seems difficult to envisage given the impact on his reputation over the last 10 days.
Whyte stressed on January 31 that claims he had used the Ticketus money to fund his takeover were not true, but was forced to backtrack on Tuesday.
He argued the deal was in the best interests of Rangers and that he was "personally on the line for £27.5million in guarantees and cash", while claiming his lack of transparency was down to his desire to keep the deal confidential for the sake of Ticketus.
Whyte had already found himself under pressure after the administrators revealed the reason Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs had forced Rangers into administration was because of £9million in unpaid VAT and PAYE accrued since his takeover.
Whyte appeared to contradict this statement yesterday when he said £4.4million of this debt was down to the "wee tax case" relating to a player compensation scheme before he took over.
Kerr said: "It's looking less likely he can come back because of the concerns and doubt and lack of confidence in him."
The latest potential blow to Whyte's reputation is the sale of shares in Arsenal.
Kerr said: "One of the things a club wants to maintain is their heritage.
"We have had great connections with Arsenal and it is extremely disappointing this has happened, and also that we found out this way."
Administrators David Whitehouse and Paul Clark are continuing to look into issues such as where the rest of the Ticketus money went, having not been paid into club accounts, and where the money from the Arsenal shares went.
They have discussed issues surrounding Rangers' finances with police, who last week confirmed they were examining information received from former chairman Alastair Johnston regarding Whyte's takeover.
A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said on Wednesday: "We can confirm that we have had initial conversations with the administrators of Rangers Football club.
"We have not received any official report from them at this stage."
Administrators are also working to sort the club's debt with creditors including HMRC, who are waiting for the outcome of the so-called "big tax case" surrounding employee benefit trusts from 2001-2010, which Whyte claims could cost Rangers up to £75million.
On Wednesday, HMRC declined to respond to Whyte's claims that they were "determined to make an example of Rangers" but the administrators had already pointed out that the tax authority were keen to reach a solution and could have issued a winding-up order rather than forcing the club into administration.
Post Comment
