McCoist chides Whyte on ‘sleeping soundly’ claim

CRAIG Whyte’s quip that he has had no trouble sleeping soundly despite taking Rangers first into administration and then into liquidation last year brought a sharp rebuke yesterday from the Ibrox club’s manager Ally McCoist.

This week marked one year since Rangers were forced to call in the administrators, after HMRC lodged a petition over the non-payment of PAYE and VAT since Whyte’s 2011 takeover. Liquidation was confirmed in the summer and the club was forced to start from scratch in the Third Division.

Whyte appeared on a Sky Sports interview on Thursday, when he denied being a “crook or a wide-boy”, while claiming he slept soundly at night after refuting any suggestions of wrong-doing during his stewardship.

McCoist, who did not watch the interview with the former owner, said: “Well, I must admit, in the last nine months or so, I would have enjoyed the luxury of sleeping at night – that’s for sure. I certainly didn’t sleep particularly well, as was the case for all the staff here and probably the vast majority of fans. So I’m pleased somebody is getting a good sleep at night. The good thing is, we are getting a lot better sleep now because of the platform we have.”

Asked if he was annoyed by Whyte’s comments, the Rangers manager said: “If you thought about it greatly and dissected it and listened to everything and took all the points, there are probably things that would disappoint and annoy you. But I’m refusing to do that until all the truth is out. Then I’ll have a look at the whole thing.

“I don’t think there is any point in me, personally, looking back now and getting angry. It’s my job to look to the future and build for the future and that’s what I intend to do.”

Rangers get on with life in the Third Division today and their latest assignment sees them return to Broadwood to face a Clyde side who provided their first away win in the league this season, having initially struggled to adapt to games on the road in the Third Division.

McCoist said: “It was a really important step for us, that particular game, because we had three games which we had drawn and one was a defeat at Stirling.

“People were, rightly, questioning the results away from home. So it was a big, big step for us. It will be equally difficult tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Fraser Aird has become the latest Rangers player to commit his future to the club after signing a five-year deal.

The Toronto-born midfielder penned the new long-term contract just 24 hours after defender Chris Hegarty agreed to extend his stay at Ibrox.

Aird, who turned 18 earlier this month, made his senior debut as a substitute in the 4-1 win over Montrose in September.

His first goal for Rangers was the late winner against Queen’s Park in a 1-0 win at Hampden in December.