Rangers fans who sent 'personal abuse' at stars scorned by ex-chief as 'devastated' claim made over key figure

Dave King has defended Rangers star James Tavernier and slammed furious fans who confronted the skipper after last weekend’s Old Firm derby defeat.

The Gers skipper was targeted by supporters after their latest loss to Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops with insults thrown at him as he exited Ibrox with his team mates. The 32-year-old defender was escorted to the club’s car park by security as seething fans booed Philippe Clement’s side and voiced their displeasure, with the captain a prime candidate.

One individual, in particular, singled Tavernier out for some foul-mouthed abuse and former Gers chairman King insists turning on their own is not the “Rangers way”. He reminded the Ibrox faithful of Tavernier's achievements over a decade of service to the club and assured angry fans that current chairman John Bennett is “devastated” as much as they are.

He told the Rangers Review: “It is incredibly disappointing to hear that a small minority of supporters are letting their anger temporarily overcome them to the point of directing personal abuse at our players. We are all immensely disappointed at the performance of our team and its decline since title 55.

“That, however, is not the fault of the present team or the individual players who were approached to play for the club (not the other way round) and who are mostly doing their best. We all judge player performance - that is part of being an emotional supporter. We wish slower players to be faster, we wish less creative players to be more creative, etc. Ultimately it is the balancing of many factors that create a successful team. That is why player recruitment should assess multiple aspects, inter alia, the player’s technical ability, temperament, character (very important at Rangers), leadership, and team compatibility.

“Different skills sets are required to ensure a balance in any successful team. Any player signed by Rangers must assume that he passed that standard and thereafter must perform in accordance with his abilities and the manager’s instructions for any given game. Individual players cannot be held accountable if the combined result of recruitment and team preparation results in poor performance.

“Rangers supporters are loyal supporters. Turning on our captain, who has been 100 per cent loyal to Rangers and (memories are short) repeatedly saved us in key games for a decade, is the opposite of loyalty and I hope that most supporters will join me in condemning such behaviour. Supporter anger should not be directed at our team.

“Our club finds itself in a largely self-inflicted decline but turning on our own players is not the Rangers way. I know John Bennett is devastated by current events and is working immensely hard behind the scenes. We have a challenging period ahead and need to pull together to get through it.”