‘Excluded’ Greig quits Rangers

RANGERS legend John Greig has ended an association with the club stretching back five decades after resigning yesterday in frustration at being “excluded” from club affairs since Craig Whyte’s takeover in May.

Former captain and manager Greig quit as non-executive director along with former chairman John McClelland. It means that only South Africa-based Dave King, who has previously been linked with takeover attempts at Ibrox, remains from the Sir David Murray-era board.

The departure of Greig heralds the end of more than just a link with the Murray period. The 69-year-old was once voted “Greatest Ever Ranger” and played over 800 first-team games for the club. A bronze statue, depicting Greig in his days as centre-half, stands in Edmiston Drive, on the corner of the Main Stand and the Copland Road Stand.

While he is immortalised forever in statue, Greig felt he had become marginalised by the club in recent months. It is understood that the board has not met since the summer, meaning Greig and McClelland felt further isolated. The current board now comprises of chairman Whyte along with King, chief operations officer Ali Russell, director of football Gordon Smith and non-executive director Phil Betts.

A light remained on in John Greig’s office at Murray Park yesterday, and the door was ajar, as reporters made their way to a press conference prior to tonight’s friendly match with Liverpool at Ibrox. Although this gave the impression of a quick exit a precisely-worded statement revealing both Greig and McClelland’s resignations had been released to the Press Association earlier. “[The resignations] result from John McClelland and John Greig both being of the opinion that since the change of ownership they have been excluded from participating in corporate governance at the club,” read the statement.

“Therefore they have decided not to continue in their positions as non-executive directors.”

The resignations were also communicated by letter to Whyte and, the club confirmed, were accepted by the chairman. Rangers, who are involved in two separate tax disputes with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, resulting from issues before Whyte took over, offered no other comment.

Their departures ultimately came as little surprise given the large turnover in personnel in the board since Whyte assumed control from Murray in May. Both Greig and McClelland were members of the independent board committee, set up to vet takeovers, which initially delayed Whyte’s buyout and then expressed scepticism over his financial muscle hours after the deal was completed. This caused bad blood to rise between Whyte and those with links to the old regime and he set about severing ties with the old board.

Eight board members have now departed since the Lanarkshire-born venture capitalist assumed control on 6 May.

Donald Muir and Mike McGill, who were closely associated with Lloyds Banking Group, left on the same day. Former chairman Alistair Johnston and Paul Murray, who launched a rival takeover bid, were removed later that month and Martin Bain and Donald McIntyre both resigned from the board after being suspended from their positions. Both have launched legal action against the club.

However, Greig’s departure has been felt most markedly given his status at Rangers. “It’s sad the way this has come about, and for them having to leave the way they have been forced into it, or appear to have been forced into it, is pretty disappointing,” said John Macmillan of the Rangers Supporters Association. “Most companies, when a new man takes over, want to bring in new people, but it’s just sad the way it has happened. John may not have had a great influence in the overall decision-making at the club, but there is no doubt he had some sort of say and he was always a link to the supporters.”