DAVE KING believes Rangers can motor away from Celtic in the next 12 months to launch a new dominance of Scottish football. 

The former Ibrox chairman reckons retaining the title and two Champions League qualifications will catapult the Light Blues to a hugely superior level as their great rivals try to regroup under Ange Postecoglou. 

Of course, Steven Gerrard needs a big performance at Ibrox next week after Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat in Malmo. 

But King is backing them to get into the group stages and land a £30million jackpot. 

He insists Steven Gerrard is completely committed to lead the charge in what he’s describing as the most crucial period in his management career. 

And he is certain that Rangers don’t have to sell prize asset Alfredo Morelos, who could be thrown straight into the Malmo return even although he won’t get back to training until later this week after quarantining. 

Speaking to the Rangers Connection podcast, King said: “This could be a pivotal period in Rangers’ history because they have the chance of another title and two Champions League qualifications which will bring in potentially £60-£70million. 

“That money will go straight back into the team because you have share-holders who don’t take dividends. 

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“So if you are able to win the league then you know from mid-May that you’re straight into the group phase and you can take your team to the next level. 

“I think this is the most exciting season because there is so much potential and that will be huge motivation to Steven. 

“There is absolute certainty on Steven. He’s completely committed. He’s absolutely not looking to go anywhere. 

“I think he is energised. He saw last season as a critical stepping stone and for him the endgame wasn’t to win one league title. 

“The endgame is building on that and I would imagine the motivation for Steven will be very high this season 

“If you look across the road there is that level of instability. We had it for different reasons. We had it on the back of failure, they’ve got it, I guess, on the back of success. 

“When you’ve got a new manager coming into a new environment with probably not a lot of team recognition or player recognition, you’ve got changes to the executive structure, is there a director of football coming or not? 

“It takes a long time for these things to work. Even if you pick the best team, it can never gel immediately. 

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“So that period of transition, it transfers onto supporters and the team. 

“Rangers, on the other hand, are so settled. They’ve got the right team with the vision and the strategies. So I think Rangers are in a very good place.” 

King also feels Gerrard can keep all of his top assets despite Porto pressing for a deal for Morelos. 

He said: “I don’t get the sense that even though they’ve brought players in I don’t there is any desperate need to sell Morelos, for example.

“I think it will purely be a footballing decision. Steven can decide whether keeping Morelos is more beneficial than accepting a certain offer and recycling that money into strengthening the team. 

“That’s where Rangers are right now which makes it so exciting.” 

King’s also hailing the incredible invincible campaign that brought title 55. 

He added: “When I look back now after the raw emotion of winning at the time, it is the relative ease with which it was won both in terms of the gap they ended up with and also setting records along the way it really is quite extraordinary.”