Rangers administration: Ally McCoist urges fans to trust Duff & Phelps

ALLY McCoist has urged Rangers supporters to give administrators Duff & Phelps the benefit of the doubt amid concerns raised over their handling of the financial crisis at the Ibrox club.

On the day Rangers began court proceedings in a bid to overturn the 12-month signing embargo imposed on them by the SFA, manager McCoist admitted he has been left in limbo by the lack of progress achieved so far in leading the club out of administration. Duff & Phelps have faced calls for an investigation into their links with Rangers owner Craig Whyte before he appointed them as administrators on 14 February. The firm have denied allegations in a BBC documentary aired this week that they were aware Whyte intended to use money raised from a deal with Ticketus to fund his purchase of the club last year.

Proposals for a CVA meeting with creditors, outlined when Charles Green and his consortium were announced as having signed a binding contract with Duff and Phelps to buy Rangers for £8.5 million on 13 May, have yet to be formally issued.

Asked about the growing criticism of Duff & Phelps from Rangers supporters, McCoist said: “The unfortunate thing for me and the vast majority of the fans is that we just don’t know, we are not qualified in these areas. All you can do is put your trust in people to do their jobs. That’s all we can ask. We can guess and have a rough idea about one or two things that are happening, but we are not qualified to really make judgements. All we can ask is that people do their jobs to the best of their ability. Until a day comes that it is proved that has not been the case, then I believe we have to keep trusting people.”

McCoist’s current first-team squad are due to revert to the original terms of their contracts next Friday (1 June), having accepted pay cuts of up to 75 per cent at the start of March in a bid to save jobs and help Rangers emerge successfully from administration. It remains uncertain whether the Green-led consortium will be able to fund the retention of key players, with McCoist revealing he has not had regular contact with the former Sheffield United chief executive.

“I haven’t spoken to him an awful lot,” added McCoist. “I have met with him two or three times, but he has been in meetings with the SFA, the SPL and dealing with other things around the club. I have, though, met him enough to let him know that we have lost so many players this season. I have told him what I think we need to make us competitive and have a realistic chance of possibly winning things next season. We just need to wait and see what everyone comes up with.”

McCoist was speaking in Ayrshire, where he attended yesterday’s launch of the Tommy Burns Masters celebrity golf tournament at Dundonald Links in support of the skin cancer charity set up in memory of his close friend, the former Celtic manager, who died four years ago this month. As he and first team coach Ian Durrant lent their support to the event, a fresh twist in the Rangers saga was unfolding across the country at the Court of Session in Edinburgh as the club’s fight against the SFA transfer ban continued.

McCoist believes the final outcome of the process is crucial in many aspects and predicts a bottom six finish in the SPL next season for Rangers if the embargo remains in place. “I was extremely disappointed when our appeal to the SFA was turned down,” said McCoist. “This will not only cripple us in terms of players coming in, it also runs the serious risk of existing players leaving.

“I think it’s important it is taken further, whether to the courts or to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We lost in the region of 11 players since the start of last season. We could possibly lose more this summer without being able to replace them, leaving us bang in trouble.

“I don’t make these remarks looking for sympathy. I’m just trying to get the best deal possible for our club. Outgoings in personnel would determine how next season would go. If we lost another six or seven players, say, then you would have to think the top six would be a dream, to be honest with you. After that you would just have to take your chances. As it stands, we at least have to try to get the players who have been loyal to the club and each other back here next season. At least that would give us a reasonable solidity, if we can keep a spine of lads like Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Steven Naismith.

“But pretty much everything is still on hold. All I can do is plan pre-season training. But the crazy this is that you are planning it without knowing who will be there. It’s a bizarre situation, but you have to plan and prepare as best you can to be ready for the start of the season.”

Despite the myriad frustrations surrounding him, however, McCoist insists he remains fully committed to remaining at Rangers, regardless of the resources at his disposal next season. “Leaving this club in this situation is the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “It’s a non-starter and hasn’t crossed my mind at all. The punters absolutely deserve someone they can trust and who will do their best. I may well make mistakes but I guarantee I will do my best for this club. That is the least the fans deserve.”