Former Rangers chairman Dave King has sensationally stated that ex-boss Steven Gerrard was "forced out" of the club when he joined Aston Villa in 2021.

Gerrard abruptly departed from the Scottish giants to take over at the Premier League club midway through the 2021/2022 season.

He had previously won the Scottish Premiership in the 2020/2021 campaign.

Speaking to the Daily Record, King spoke about Gerrard and the difficulties recently sacked Rangers boss Gio van Bronkhorst had also faced at the club.

He stated: “Gio probably ended up in a similar situation to the one Steven was in. Steven was there, won 55, wanted to kick on. Steven was given certain commitments by the chairman as to what resources would be made available to him," said King.

“It was very important for Steven to kick on, to win the title and to start our own run for 10 in a row. We are only talking a short period of time ago we were so far ahead of the competition in Scotland.

“We won the league by a country mile, our opposition were in turmoil throughout the summer and couldn't get a manager. (Postecoglou) came in, with all respect to him, as an unknown coach that didn't know Scottish football.

“The position Rangers were in at the beginning of last season was really one where I thought we would embark on a number of titles and would go on to win a number in a row. If it wasn't for the fact, first of all, Steven was let down in terms of the money promised to him and then secondly, when his relationship with the chairman got to the point when he was effectively forced out.

“To me, I don't think the circumstances that forced Steven out of the club were any better when Gio came in. Therefore I'm kind of guarded in my comments about Gio and Ross Wilson.

"They've probably come up against some of the same obstacles with the board Steven encountered. That led effectively to Steven being forced out of the club at a time when he was top of the league and in the semi-final of the League Cup."