New Ibrox boss will get cash to spend in January

give money to the new manager as he demands at least a second-place finish in the Premiership.

He said: “We have to make funds available, if we don’t we won’t return to being the No 1 club in Scotland, so that’s non-negotiable.

“We are going to back whoever we appoint, just as we did with Pedro. We spent money in the summer but it doesn’t diminish what is available in January.

“We were always going to have to top up in January and the new manager will have to decide how much he wants to spend in January after assessing the squad.”

King admitted Caixinha’s failure to challenge Celtic was a disappointment but he still believes Rangers can finish second this season.

“I hoped we would comfortably, as a minimum, come second, and mount a challenge to Celtic. That clearly hasn’t happened but the chance to finish second is still within our reach.”

The chairman knows there has to be an upturn or he could lose the supporters.

“There is a worry a lack of success will see some fans drift away, that’s an absolute fact,” King said.

“What we have at the moment is a level of support that’s above the level of success. The fans are supporting the team no matter what and we are very alert to that.”