John Bennett is set to step down as Rangers chairman and bring an end to his tenure at the head of the Ibrox board.

The Rangers Review can reveal that Bennett is poised to quit the top job after a difficult period that has seen criticism from supporters mount and pressure build on and off the park.

Bennett stepped up to replace Douglas Park as chairman in April last year. Park held the position during Rangers’ 55th title win and the run to Seville after he succeeded Dave King at the end of his long stint the major boardroom voice and investor.

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King told the Rangers Review last week that Bennett was ‘devastated’ by a chain of events that left the board under increasing pressure. The South Africa-based businessman has previously backed Bennett to lead Rangers.

“Our Club finds itself in a largely self-inflicted decline but turning on our own players is not the Rangers way,” King said as he also called out the supporters who had directed their anger at captain James Tavernier in the aftermath of the Old Firm defeat to Celtic. “I know John Bennett is devastated by current events and is working immensely hard behind the scenes. We have a challenging period ahead and need to pull together to get through it.”

Bennett – who holds a 5.51 per cent stake in RIFC plc - has now decided that he will step aside as chairman. Bennett has been a hugely influential and important investor at Ibrox over several years and his financial commitment has been crucial to funding the rebuild on and off the park following regime change in 2015.

He has come under increasing pressure this season, however, following the saga that saw Rangers forced to head to Hampden for the first weeks of the campaign. Lengthy delays in the redevelopment of the Copland Stand saw supporters point fingers at Bennett and he assumed the role of executive chairman after the departure of James Bisgrove earlier this summer.

Those feelings of discontent have been strengthened by the derby loss that leaves Philippe Clement’s side five points adrift of Celtic in the Premiership title race. Rangers return to action against Dundee United on Sunday.

“We talked about everything,” Clement said when asked what backing he had received from the Ibrox hierarchy over the course of the international break. “About the stadium, about the Celtic game, about where we are as a team now. It's the same support as the weeks before.

"The board knows it's the beginning of a totally new story. They understand that there are so many new players and so many players left and so many young players coming in who we need to grow in their potential.”