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Walter Smith resigned on Monday as chairman of fallen Scottish giants Rangers in the midst of a power struggle at Ibrox.

Smith, who won 21 major trophies over two stints as Rangers manager, had only been in the non-executive position since May.

He stepped down three days after former chief executive Charles Green returned to the Glasgow club as a consultant and issued a public warning to manager Ally McCoist over his long-term future.

The ex-Scotland and Everton boss is expected to release a statement outlining the reasons for his departure.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the club said: "Rangers announces that Walter Smith has today resigned from his position as chairman and a director of the company with immediate effect."

Smith joined the board in November last year in what was a huge coup for Green, who had rejected a bid from a consortium led by the former Rangers manager immediately after buying the liquidation-bound club's assets and business in June.

Smith was elevated to chairman in May following the departure from the board of Malcolm Murray, a month after Green himself quit as chief executive amid an investigation into his links with former Rangers owner Craig Whyte, although he denied any wrongdoing.

Rangers are about to start the season in the third tier of Scottish football after being demoted to the fourth tier last season after the club went into liquidation.

Green's first act after being appointed as consultant was to warn McCoist he had to win a cup this season, which led the latter to describe him as an "embarrassment".

On Monday, McCoist described Smith as the "glue" that was holding Rangers together.