DAVE KING has backed Steven Gerrard to drive Rangers forward this season after getting his Ibrox reign off to a winning start in the Europa League.

The 38-year-old led the Light Blues to a 2-0 aggregate victory over FK Shkupi in the first qualifying round on Tuesday night.

Gerrard has overhauled the Gers squad following his appointment as boss in May after being backed in the transfer market by King and his board.

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And, in an address to supporters on the Rangers website, chairman King said: “We were constantly put under pressure to make an appointment even though we did not consider the available candidates to be suitable to take the Club forward.

“We had many candidates with managerial experience, but the experience was not necessarily successful or of the standard that we felt we needed – particularly given our desire for stability after our recent experience of manager changes.

“We resisted the pressure and made an appointment only when we felt that we had an outstanding candidate that we could support.

“We ultimately appointed a man whose football pedigree, knowledge, character and winning mentality is unquestioned and we will back him while he gains management experience. A winner is a winner.

“In that regard, it was pleasing to see the new squad settling down with the successful navigation last night (especially after last year) of a potentially tricky Europa League fixture with two clean sheets to the players’ credit.

“On this point, I am conscious that we were top scorers in the SPFL last season but conceded far too many goals to be able to finish higher than third.

“This leakage will be much reduced in the coming season thanks to the efforts of Mark (Allen) and Steven in the transfer market. This team will continue to improve which makes me more relaxed for this coming season than I have been for any since regime change.”

Gerrard is the fourth boss that Rangers have appointed under the King regime following the unsuccessful spells of Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty.

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And the changes on and off the park at Ibrox and the Hummel Training Centre have led to increased investment from the Light Blues’ financial backers.

King said: “We have now significantly refurbished and improved Ibrox and our training facilities, including the installation of a new state of the art pitch during the close season, to ensure that our players can now train on the best surface available.

“Secondly, the need to replace managers has been costly in terms of severance packages and the cost of bringing in new players to support each new manager.

“The replacement of the football management team is a difficult time for everyone at the Club.

“There is not only the financial impact but the need to deal fairly with people who worked extremely hard and gave their all – even though that turned out not to be enough.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have met and worked with Pedro (Caixinha) and Graeme (Murty) and I am truly delighted that Graeme chose to stay and will continue to play such an important role in the development of our youth.

“I am also grateful to all the outgoing players for the efforts they made during their time at the Club and wish them well for their future careers in football.”