Ally McCoist admits he's worried after nightmare defeat against Malmo

Published on Tuesday 26 July 2011 18:39

ALLY McCOIST last night admitted to having concerns over the lame start to his reign as Rangers manager but bullishly insisted he can recover quickly by achieving a feat never before accomplished by any of his predecessors in the job.

In their 55-year European history, Rangers have never won a tie after losing the first leg at home. They must do so for the first time if they are to avoid a painful and costly elimination from the Champions League in the third qualifying round after going down 1-0 to Malmo in the first leg at Ibrox last night.

Rangers were jeered off the pitch at both half-time and full-time of an often wretched performance as Daniel Larsson's 19th minute goal gave the Swedish champions the initiative ahead of next Wednesday's second leg in Malmo.

It was another frustrating experience for McCoist whose team had to come from behind at Ibrox on Saturday to salvage a 1-1 draw against Hearts in the opening game of their SPL title defence.

"One of the worrying things from our point of view was that we didn't start the game at all well," said McCoist.

"I sat here on Saturday and said the same thing after the game against Hearts, our first half was nowhere near good enough. The standard of goal we are losing is certainly worrying.

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"We were all expecting a little bit more, there's no getting away from it. The main problem was that we didn't start well enough.

"We gave Malmo a lot of space and time. You can't do that with good players, they will punish you. Malmo didn't surprise us in the way they played, we knew they were a good team. They have pace up front and know their way about a football pitch.

"But we have to be disappointed with the way we performed, especially in the first half.

"The lads in the dressing room are all disappointed, as you would expect. We've had a brief chat and we will certainly chat a lot more before the games we have coming up but I believe we created enough chances in the second half to indicate that the tie is far from over.

"On another night, we could have had two or three goals. There was some really poor finishing. I really do believe we can over to Malmo and score.

If Rangers fail to progress they will at least have the consolation of dropping into the Europa League fourth qualifying round alongside Celtic, rather than going out of Europe altogether.

McCoist, however, isn't contemplating that with the Malmo tie still very much alive.

"There is plenty to play for. As disappointed as we all are, the tie is far from over.

"We have to score over there or we are out of the competition. But, as I say, I'm very confident we can score.

"We believe we can go through, as difficult as it will be. I don't believe it's that much of an advantage playing at home in Europe anymore and I firmly believe we can go there and score a couple of goals."

McCoist took no issue with the reaction of the Rangers fans to a performance which saw Malmo, currently midway through their domestic season, generally look more threatening than his side .

"There have been good teams here before who they have booed off and there will be teams and results in the future they will boo," observed McCoist.

"That's absolutely what they are entitled to do. If they are not happy with what they are seeing, they will boo us. That's been the story since football began.

"You would have to say Malmo certainly looked that little bit sharper than us, especially in the first half.

"They did look fitter in the way they went about it. Is that down to the fact they are so far into their season? I don't know.

"But that doesn't help us anyway. The fact is we will have to be a lot sharper in the second leg and I'm determined we will be. I agree we were not sharp tonight and the early start to the season is possibly one of the reasons for it. But you have to get over that and get your sharpness back."

It required a fine performance from goalkeeper Allan McGregor, by some distance Rangers' best player, to prevent Malmo winning by a margin which would have put the tie all but beyond the Scottish champions.

"We believe he is one of the best," said McCoist. "He makes good saves at important times and did it again tonight.

"The way the game was going, it was important we didn't lose a second goal. We were pushing forward and had chances to score. We could and should have scored. But it was equally important we didn't lose another one and we had our goalkeeper to thank for that. Another goal against us would have been a real problem."

To compound McCoist's problems, captain David Weir could be set for a spell on the sidelines after limping off with a hamstring injury.

One potential replacement, new signing Dorin Goian, is still waiting for a work permit and McCoist is uncertain whether the Romanian international defender will be available in time for the second leg.

"We are not sure if he'll be available for the weekend against St Johnstone in the league but we'll keep our fingers crossed," said McCoist.

"There is a slight problem there but we are hopeful he can play in Malmo. I don't know the exact situation with the red tape but there is a slight problem."