McCoist: Wins not entertainment Rangers’ priority

RANGERS manager Ally McCoist has expressed his desire to deliver a better product for supporters in the forthcoming season but insists substance must always take priority over style for the Ibrox club.
Rangers manager Ally McCoist. Picture: Phil WilkinsonRangers manager Ally McCoist. Picture: Phil Wilkinson
Rangers manager Ally McCoist. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

Despite the ultimately comprehensive nature of his team’s Third Division title win last season, McCoist faced criticism from some quarters for the standard of football they produced, especially when failing to make a significant impact in the three domestic cup competitions they took part in.

As he prepares for the next phase of his quest to restore Rangers to the top flight of Scottish football following their financial collapse, McCoist believes they are in a better position to harbour hopes of cup success in the new campaign.

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“We go in to win every competition we are in,” McCoist told Rangers TV. “We are far better placed to challenge in the cups this season. Like every other Scottish club outwith Celtic, we should be hoping for a good cup run and cup success.

“That’s where we are at the moment. We are not in a position to say ‘we are going to win this and we are going to win that’. We are in a position to have far greater hopes and desires to do better in the cup competitions.

“I want to give the fans the Rangers they were used to for 140 years. The Rangers I want the fans to see again is a Rangers who are winning things. Simple. Winning leagues, qualifying for Champions Leagues, getting to Uefa Cup finals, always in a Scottish Cup final or League Cup final. That’s the Rangers I want to give them.

“We need to entertain, we are in the entertainment business. I want the Rangers fans to be happy and genuinely pleased by what they are seeing. But what they must see first and foremost is a team that can compete and win.

“The five-year plan for us is quite simple. We need to be back competing in the Champions League.

But McCoist also admitted his seven summer signings so far have been made simply with the immediate future in mind as he seeks to make the strongest possible start to the season.

“As Rangers manager, you are never in the position to plan long term,” he said. “Of course you can do that, but the bottom line is that if I do it and take my eye off next week, I won’t be here. So the next couple of months are my priority.

“Of course the long term future is vitally important to myself, the staff and all the supporters. But as soon as I take my eye off the next three or four weeks, then you are in trouble. My job is to get a team ready for the start of the season which will do the club justice.