Steven Gerrard didn't want Rangers exit for Aston Villa and was 'kicked out', claims Dave King

Steven Gerrard didn't want to to leave Rangers for Aston Villa when he did and was "kicked out", according to Dave King.

The former Gers chairman had a great relationship with the Englishman during their times in key positions at the club. But the South African had already stepped down from his post when Gerrard finally delivered title 55 during the 2020/21 season, his own third campaign as boss.

Months later, he was on the move too. Villa came calling and it appeared the lure of a return to the Premier League had proved too strong as he was quickly on his way, taking his Gers backroom team with him. But King claims that while Gerrard did ultimately want a move back to England at some point, at that time he would have preferred to stay at Ibrox for longer.

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He said: "Let’s be absolutely clear, Steven was not ready to go when he went. Steven wanted to defend the title and I’d extended his contract at his request.

“He still says Anfield can’t compare to Ibrox on a European night. We had our understanding that we’d respect each other and he came to me and said, ‘Look, I’d like to extend’.

“He was happy at the club. His ambition was to defend the title. In the process of defending the title and having a nice European run, he could then move on to the balance of his career having used Rangers as a basis to gain some very valuable first-hand experience.

“Steven was absolutely kicked out. I have no doubts about that. He did not want to leave at that point in time. He would have left, but not at that point in time. It wasn’t what he wanted to do.

“It’s absolutely true that we went backwards because it wasn’t just Steven who left. It was support staff and it was the very structures that he had put in place. It was the ethos, the standards, everything about the club. Then we started to go down from there. He got the spine, he got the club, he got all of that.

“I’m not saying Philippe Clement doesn’t because I’ve never met him. But if I look at the team and I look at the shape and I look at the players they’ve signed, I see nothing that inspires me and makes me think we’re going to be close and have a good January window and possibly kick on. In fact, I don’t even see anything that will get us close next year.”

King has been critical of the way the club has been run since he left and has already challenged the board to an EGM. He's now doubled down on what he feels has been mismanagement since title 55.

He added: "It’s extraordinary that we got to this position from winning title No 55. It really is extraordinary. I’ll go to the point it’s disturbing. As a fan, it’s disturbing because I felt that after 55, we were on the right trajectory. We were doing well and the value of the club was going up. Of course, the value of the club going up helps you attract investment.

"Now, I think the value has gone down quite dramatically and it has to be restored. It’s not been lost, but it has to be restored and it has to be marketed positively. There’s not a single person in the club I can think of who I would get any inspiration from, who I thought could lead this club out of its existing predicament. And make no mistake, it is a predicament.”