Rudderless Rangers ship is listing at dangerous angle as unpopular figures jump before they are pushed overboard

Once upon a time, it would take a banner parade round Ibrox to force unpopular figures off their perches atop the Marble Staircase.

More recently, well they’ve been sprinting for the exits before the Rangers support have even had time to strip the bedsheets and apply the first brush strokes on those infamous mugshots with the red stripe slashed through them. James Bisgrove, John Bennett and now Creag Robertson, they’ve all jumped before they were pushed out by a furious fanbase.

You can certainly see the sense in it given the treatment some of their former colleagues have endured. A little under 18 months has passed since the Rangers board endured a week from hell. What started with an Old Firm defeat ended with the directors squirming in their seats as the Ibrox faithful spelled out exactly what they thought of the men in charge.

“After 55 titles you took your eye off the ball - time for a change,” read a display that emerged from the section housing the Union Bears during a league win over Kilmarnock just days after Michael Beale’s side had lost yet again to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic in the 2023 Viaplay Cup final.

That day it was former CEO Stewart Robertson and director of football Ross Wilson who were in the crosshairs of the scunnered support. It was a mortifying experience for the pair but they got the message. Within weeks, both men had cleared their desks. Beale would get the same treatment too soon enough. And those seething shows of contempt from the punters have clearly stuck in the minds of the blazers who remained behind.

So when the spotlight of anger turned to them, well they shot off before the punter’s glowering glare got anywhere near its brightest. Bisgrove, Robertson’s replacement as chief exec,