DAVE KING admits the Rangers board face a challenge to get supporters back onside and comfortable about where their cash for official merchandise is going as he looks for further dialogue with Sports Direct.

Many fans are continuing to withhold their money from the club while the controversial contractual arrangements with Mike Ashley’s firm remain in place and are refusing to purchase kit and other items from club outlets.

Chairman King is eager to renegotiate the deals to allow Rangers to increase their income from merchandise sales as the new Ibrox board look to re-establish the Light Blues at the top of Scottish football once again.

But the South Africa-based businessman admits the task in hand will be a tough one, and all but impossible, if fans are not willing to hand over their cash in future.

King said: "The fact is, whether Sports Direct would agree with it or not, the fans at the moment are not of the mind that the current arrangement supports the club.

"Therefore, they are very concerned that if they are buying Rangers replica kit or other memorabilia then they are supporting Sports Direct more than they are supporting Rangers.

"As long as that mind-set continues the Rangers retail operations are going to continue to struggle so I think it is important, and in the interest of all parties, that we get a resolution to this sooner rather than later.

"There certainly is a belief based on the historical relationship that the agreements are not fair to the club.

“I think if we were in a position to say that having gone through discussions with Sports Direct we now believe it is in the interests of the club to go forward, then hopefully that would change the mind-set of a lot of the supporters."

Rangers have already held talks with Sports Directs chiefs in a bid to strike a compromise deal that would benefit both parties and potentially significantly increase the income from merchandise streams in the coming years.

And King hopes progress can be made as he looks to strike a deal sooner rather than later.

He said: "I regarded that meeting as being a good meeting with Sports Direct. One of my suggestions was we should look at a restructuring of the relationship and I indicated I would make proposals. They were willing at least to listen to me.

“They have not given a commitment one way or another, but they did say 'Dave, you are an important customer of ours. We would like to make the relationship work, please come to us with your proposals'.

"I'm very mindful of the fact that any proposal I give to Sports Direct should be something that works better for the club, but also works better for Sports Direct. We are not going to achieve anything unless it benefits both parties."

Ashley failed in his attempts to force the Light Blues to repay a £5million loan earlier this summer as fans once again vented their fury at the actions of the Newcastle United chief.

King insists the relationship between Rangers and Sports Direct could work out, but only if the arrangement suits the Light Blues.

"Mike Ashley is still a relatively young guy, so to have gone in and done what he’s done, he’s obviously a very smart retailer,” he told Sky Sports News.

“He couldn’t be in the position he is in without being a smart retailer.

"So, I don’t think this is necessarily an issue of whether Rangers should be doing business with Sports Direct. They are a very smart retailer. It comes back to: can we do it in a way that works for both parties?"