Dave King has claimed Mark Warburton saw the Rangers job as a stepping stone to becoming a manager in the Premier League.

Warburton's departure from the Ibrox club, alongside that of assistant manager David Weir and head of recruitment Frank McParland, was announced on Friday evening.

King claimed in a statement that he was "not surprised" by the developments, confirmed the sequence of events that led to Warburton's departure, revealing his belief that their resignation had been prompted by interest from another club.

"There were rumours that the management team [presumably their agent] was negotiating with English clubs and, in one instance, I was informally approached to ask if the club would waive compensation if the management team was to leave, King said.

"While this was unsubstantiated by direct confirmation from the Club in question, I was alert to a conversation that Mark Warburton had with me after joining the club in which he advised me that his long-term ambition was to manage in the EPL and he viewed Rangers as a stepping-stone to achieve this.

"His comments to the media simultaneously reinforced his present unhappiness at the club.

"I was therefore not surprised when the management team's agent approached the club's managing director Stewart Robertson to request a meeting which was held in Glasgow on Monday this week.

"The outcome of this meeting was that the agent subsequently offered that Mark, David and Frank would resign with immediate effect without compensation as long as the club, in turn, agreed to waive compensation from any new club that they signed for.

"After discussion the board accepted this offer and employment was immediately terminated. In order for us to achieve our ambitions we need employees that, like your board members, will always put Rangers first."

King went on to explain how the agent of Warburton, Weir and McParland returned to Rangers looking to defer the resignation of the management team. "The agent again contacted us and asked to defer the resignation until the management had secured a new club," he continued.

"I assume that the new deal had somehow collapsed at the last minute. The board met to consider this request but resolved to hold them to the original agreement."

King also commented on Warburton's transfer dealings, revealing how a routine review of transfers and wages seemed to upset the Rangers manager, with details of the review leaked to the media.

"Irrespective of who leaked confidential information, it is clear from subsequent media comments that the manager did not respond well to the board reviewing his recruitment activity," the Rangers chairman said.

"This is a strange position to adopt and, in my personal experience, is not a position that a more experienced manager would adopt. No manager in the world can reasonably expect to be beyond scrutiny."