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Dave King has stepped down as Rangers chairman, he has confirmed in a statement to the PA news agency.

Douglas Park has been placed in interim charge of the Rangers board after Dave King confirmed he has stepped down as chairman.

The Johannesburg-based King announced at the club’s AGM in November he would be giving up the role to focus on his business interests back in South Africa.

And he has now left it to motor group tycoon Park to steer Rangers through the coronavirus crisis after announcing a task team had been set up at Ibrox to deal with the fallout of the pandemic.

In a statement, King said: “I thank all supporters, club management and the board for the magnificent support I received while guiding the club post regime change to put that specific crisis behind the club.

“It is a great pity that we now find ourselves part of this global crisis. The task team will continue to navigate the club through this difficult time while reporting to the full board.

“The deputy chairman Douglas Park will chair the board during the interim period and a new permanent chairman will be elected by the board at the next board meeting and will be announced immediately thereafter.”

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King admits he had almost had a change of heart after the scale of virus’ threat became clear, but decided he could not continue leading the club after being forced into self-isolation on his return to South Africa following a board meeting earlier this month.

“I considered the possibility of extending my time as chairman until the coronavirus crisis is over but that is not practically possible,” he added.

“After I returned to South Africa last week from the board meeting, I was mandated by the South African authorities to go into self-isolation for 14 days – which I am presently undergoing.”

King also said a fresh round of investment in the club has been shelved amid the virus panic. Far East businessman Stuart Gibson had been reportedly set to inject some much-needed capital into the club, which admitted earlier this year it required an extra £10million before the season was out.

“At my final board meeting in Glasgow on March 14, the board was close to finalising a new round of funding however this has been put on hold while the board considers the financial consequences of the rapidly evolving global impact of coronavirus,” he said.

“The subsequent severe developments within the sporting and general business environment – that have now resulted in global lockdowns – has necessitated that the careful financial planning assumptions presented on March 14 are revisited.

“In that regard we are no different from other football clubs and, indeed, the largest and smallest companies worldwide are all affected to varying degrees.

“The club has formed a task team that comprises executive management and that reports regularly into the board of RIFC (Rangers International Football Club Ltd). The priority of the task team is to ensure the well-being and health of all employees while simultaneously working with our fellow clubs, associations, stakeholders and government to ensure that the emotional and financial impact of this pandemic is mitigated as far as possible.

“We presently have extremely limited visibility on how the landscape will develop in the coming months but we will continue to keep our supporters and other stakeholders updated as matters progress. We are all in this together.”