Away from the tax verdict on Wednesday, Rangers chairman Dave King used the club’s annual report to take another pop at Mike Ashley, underlined the ‘non- negotiable’ drive to reach Scotland’s top flight — and promised that better times lay ahead.

Reporting losses of £7.5million for a period blighted by fan boycotts and off-field unrest under the previous regime, he further confirmed that directors will pump in the £2.5m needed to keep the club afloat until the end of the season.

King also turned his attention to the retail rights previously handed over when Ashley provided £5m in emergency funding to the club, and blamed the Newcastle United owner and his Sports Direct empire for current finances at Ibrox.

Rangers chairman Dave King says he will continue to hold Sports Direct accountable

‘Even more damaging has been the well-publicised concerns about the circumstances surrounding the negotiation and implementation of the arrangements with Sports Direct and the commercial terms that were agreed to by the Board at that time,’ said King.

‘The poor performance of the retail business continues to exercise the collective mind of the Board. Unfortunately, Sports Direct secured a gagging order against the Company and its officers that prevents me from fully expressing my feelings on how this part of our business has been managed under Sports Direct and its senior management.

‘Certainly, the poor business practices and governance failures are not something I would expect of a large public company.’

Directors will pump in the £2.5m needed to keep the Scottish club afloat until the end of the season

On the football front, King declared: ‘It was immensely disappointing that the team found the challenge of winning the SPFL Championship beyond them and subsequently failed to advance, even via the play-offs.

‘The new Board immediately set about ensuring this will not be repeated and the club now has a management structure in place that understands and accepts that playing in the SPFL Premiership next season is non-negotiable.

‘The team has improved to meet this challenge and plans are already in place to ensure that further improvements will be in place before the start of the 2016/2017 season.

‘For the first time in many years, we should now be able to move forward in a constructive manner.’

The board are confident of gaining shareholder approval, at an Annual General Meeting scheduled for Friday, November 27 at the Clyde Auditorium, for a new share issue that will — along with season ticket money and other revenue streams — allow the club to balance the books next year.

Preaching prudence while accepting that ‘the club has been deprived of investment’ under the old regime, the report continued: ‘The board of directors believe that there is an expectation that the group will, at all times, have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.’

With the new board not having taken over until March, figures applying to a year ending in June were always going to provide a questionable snapshot of finances at Ibrox, with the next set of results sure to be more revealing.

In the football department, new manager Mark Warburton focused on a clean break with the recent past, writing in his notes: ‘Rangers, as a club, is synonymous with dignity and respect and it is these two qualities that must never be forgotten as we strive to regain our place at the top of Scottish football.

‘Our everyday behaviour, our actions, must always enhance the reputation of this institution.

‘There is no need for me to talk about the issues that have blighted the club in recent times, these have been well enough documented.