Can King end the Rangers panto?

White Knight is set for his biggest battle.

Ibrox Stadium can accommodate 50,838 more spectators than the tiny Guildhall Theatre in Derby.

At first glance, there wouldn’t seem to be much similarity between a famous old football ground in Glasgow and a small, intimate venue in the East Midlands.

A common link is that both venues have been hosting an ongoing pantomime.

The curtain came down on performances of Aladdin last night, but the Rangers tale continues to play out to ever-dwindling audiences.

The story in Govan has been short on laughs, but contains more twists and turns than any work of fiction.

During the last seven days, we have seen the bizarre sight of a Rangers’ team taking some satisfaction from only losing 2-0 to Celtic in a League Cup semi-final where they failed to muster a single shot on goal.

That was quickly followed by the arrival of five loan players from Newcastle United, with the new arrivals foisted upon interim manager Kenny McDowall without any consultation.

McDowall claimed those running the club had told him the loanees have to be in his starting XI if fit.

“Oh no we didn’t” was the response from Rangers Chief Executive Derek Llambias as, yet again, the once-proud club became the subject of ridicule.

And only on Friday it emerged that the latest man to show an interest in buying into Rangers, former Indian cricket entrepreneur Lalit Modi, has been accused of financial wrong-doing in his homeland.

The ins and outs of the financial chaos engulfing the club would make War And Peace look like a pamphlet.

One thing, however, is without doubt the Rangers supporters have had enough.

Some have expressed their disquiet in a rather anti-social manner, but they are united in demanding change.

Former Ibrox director Dave King may seem an unlikely White Knight to those looking from afar. His decade-long battle with the South African tax authorities has left his reputation badly bruised, and open to attack by his opponents.

It’s a sign of the times that most Rangers fans are prepared to overlook this issue. King may not be the perfect solution, but most in Light Blue scarves see his proposals as the only viable way ahead.

There’s a desperate need for transparency and unity at Ibrox. King has recognised that, and is prepared to make sacrifices to offer both.

He swept into Glasgow to brief journalists last Wednesday, and it has to be stated that no questions were ruled out of order and that not a single issue was ducked.

Now Wednesday, March 4 has been earmarked for the club’s EGM. Deciding to hold it in London is seen by the Board’s detractors as a deliberate attempt to dilute their vote on the day.

Of course, the complexities of the financial dealings at Rangers are beyond the grasp of most ordinary mortals.

Supporters want a successful, winning team on the pitch, and King understands that.

His pitch aims to give the fans a voice, while steering the club towards calmer financial waters, and he has been helped by the current Board’s refusal to engage with their customers.

“I’ve pleasantly surprised that the fans have one voice,” he said. “Before it was hard even trying to understand who fan representatives were.

“There were all these different groups, and people would come and talk and say: ‘We’re the real fans, they’re not the real fans’.

“It has been astounding. The one significant achievement of this Board has been its ability to unite all the fans.

“It’s been wonderful for me to see that, and let’s hope we can keep them united.”

Supporters played a massive part in turning up the heat on the current regime. King’s consortium offers better times, but he doesn’t promise a fan takeover.

He went on: “I don’t know if you want a Board that’s all supporters. You want some genuine independence. I think you need a couple of people who aren’t caught up in the passion. We’ve got to get the balance right of getting people who aren’t fans first.

“Fergus McCann’s model at Celtic was a more responsible model. This Board has to make sure we’ve a funding and financial policy to make sure we never have the responsibility of event risk again.

“Hopefully the fans will understand that that we won’t take them to the abyss again.”

King maintains things can change in just one minute when Rangers hold the General Meeting. Directors David Somers, Derek Llambias, James Easdale and Barry Leach will be gone if all the King’s men get a simple 51% of the votes.

And this time, King claims, he’s here to stay.

He said: “I think it’s fair to say I have been away and left the situation because I have come on a number of occasions and been rebuffed.

“I’ve gone away but I’ve not gone away in the sense that I had mentally gone away.

“But if the resolutions are passed at the EGM, we are in and we will have the first Board meeting within a minute.”

For many Rangers fans, that will be the most important 60 seconds in the club’s history.