Easdale steps down from Rangers' board

James Easdale has stepped down from his role as Rangers director after fans of the Glasgow club made clear they did not want the bus tycoon on the board.Easdale, was among the four directors who faced being voted off the board at a meeting on 6 March, after former director David King has been trying to engineer a move to remove the current board.King made publicly clear that he wanted shareholders to oust Easdale, finance director Barry Leach as well as chairman David Somers and chief executive Derek Llambias.The latter, along with Leach, is a close business associate of Newcastle United and Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, who owns a 8.92% stake in the Scottish Championship's club.Late in January, the Sports Direct chief tightened his grip on the Ibrox outfit by providing a £10m from its company to Rangers, to assist the club's "perilous" financial position.However, Rangers fans have repeatedly voiced their discontent at Ashley's involvement with the club and at the appointment on Llambias and Leach on the club's board, which will fight to remain in charge on 6 March.The current board's hopes of survival were dealt a blow on Tuesday, when the Rangers Supporters Trust bought a number of shares, which had previously been owned by Easdale's brother Sandy through a proxy, from Beaufort Nominees.Easdale said that surviving a vote without the fans' support would have felt like "a hollow victory".