Axed Ambassador Hateley is first to put the boot into Dave King’s former Blue Room buddies
Mark Hateley is the first of Dave King’s messengers to put the boot into the Ibrox board following the defeat to Celtic.
The former England striker, alongwith Richard Gough and Derek Johnstone, were defrocked from their Ambassador roles after King quit the Blue Room to fight the pandemic in South Africa.
With his shareholding regularly diluted and Club 1872 barely having a pot Mister King has been back on the scene trying to force Douglas Park into buying his silence.
King has got friendly messengers in place at the Daily Record, The Sun and Herald/Evening Times with a handful of legends also prepared to play his tune.
?Rangers have relied too much on Morelos
?Players didn’t step up to the mark
?Lack of investment after last season’s title win
?Three or four “quality” additions needed
?Bottle throwing “unacceptable”Mark Hateley says he wasn’t surprised by Rangers’ defeat to Celtic ? pic.twitter.com/xkkOpFOuxF
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) April 4, 2022
Discussing the reliance on Morelos Hateley said:
Why have we relied on him too much? Because of a lack of investment carrying on from the back of last season. I always say we have to build from a place of strength. We did that when I played here.
When Steven (Gerrard) was here, he’d probably be listening to Walter Smith’s advice which would be to build from a place of strength. Winning the league will always add to that. I feel the squad is good but we haven’t brought any fresh blood in.
Taking up the offer to play in the Sydney Super Cup opened up some lingering sores among angry bears but nothing like the hurt felt over a 12 point swing in the title race that sees Celtic poised to regain their title.
January signings Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo and James Sands have contributed next to nothing- much like summer signings John Lundstram, Fashio Sakala and Juninho Bacuna who sound like footballers without delivering on the pitch.
The current Ibrox board covered losses of £23.5m last season to deny Selik the SPFL title but the well of goodwill has run dry with fans demanding another signing spree to halt another period of Celtic domination.
Pulling on those heart-strings while discussing the reliance on Alfredo Morelos during an interview with Sky Sports, The Sun reports Hateley saying:
Further attacks are expected this week from those loyal to Mister King. As history proved the spending during Hateley’s playing days was unsustainable with that club going into administration then liquidation in 2012.
It looks like a false economy on behalf of the Ibrox board cutting Hateley loose to criticise his former employers.