WHO’S WHO IN THE BLUE ROOM AT IBROX

These are the men guiding the club’s destiny at a potentially crucial point in history. Perhaps with just a little guidance from certain parties not on the plc board.

1 DAVID SOMERS non-executive chairman Coming to a comedy club near you soon, the laugh-a-minute chairman whose performance at the AGM was enough to persuade many Rangers fans that his comic talents are being wasted on Scottish football. A series of emails that found their way into the public domain, first making reference to his ‘poor remuneration’ of £2,500 a day and then openly expressing fears for his position if Mike Ashley lost his power struggle, have fatally undermined any respect supporters might have held for Somers. Few believe, however, that he has ever wielded any real influence at the club. 2 DEREK LLAMBIAS chief executive officer How fortunate Rangers were in their extensive quest to find a replacement for Graham Wallace. According to chairman Somers, Llambias was just one of a number of fine candidates interviewed for the post. The fact that he is the right-hand man of Mike Ashley, who had already appointed Llambias as a consultant at Rangers before he was promoted to take charge of the day-to-day running of the club, is just a coincidence. Almost overlooked at the AGM, he did tell fans that Ashley intended to take Rangers back to the Champions League. 3 BARRY LEACH finance director Leach is one of two directors Ashley has the right to appoint — he’s still got room for one more, with Llambias apparently hired entirely on merit — as a condition of the £2million loan, later raises to £3m, that provided one of the many temporary bail-outs for Rangers. The 48-year-old former Sports Direct executive, whose appointment was confirmed last week, had been acting as a consultant to Rangers since October. Leach is an out-and-out Ashley man, his CV full of directorships with firms either in, or linked to, the Newcastle owner’s empire. Although Ashley has been barred by the SFA from increasing his shareholding beyond the 9.9 per cent limit, he clearly intends to continue exerting influence. 4 JAMES EASDALE non-executive director Not to be confused with his brother Sandy, chairman of the football club board — which makes him free from the need to seek re-election annually — and occasional provider of emergency loans. James has been on the board since July 2013. Officially, he owns less than one per cent of available shares — but Sandy has 5.21 per cent. He told shareholders: ‘I don’t have proxies for anyone. I always vote in the best interests of the club. I’m not a puppet and certainly not a rat.’