Ally McCoist disappointed at Neil Lennon’s views on Ibrox woes

ALLY McCoist probably thought he had prepared himself for every possible line of inquiry before he walked in to face the expectant gathering of newspaper journalists at Murray Park yesterday.

The fall-out from the deadline day sale of his top scorer Nikica Jelavic to Everton and his perceived fury with his chairman Craig Whyte over the failure to sign a replacement would, the Rangers manager knew, be top of the agenda.

“It might have been misconstrued as being flippant, but I was close to wearing a crash helmet before coming in here,” was the wise-cracking opening gambit of a man whose trademark irrepressibility is surely being tested to the limit by the current situation at Rangers.

But what McCoist had not bargained for were the views expressed just a couple of hours earlier, around nine miles up the road at Lennoxtown, by his Celtic counterpart Neil Lennon. News tends to travel fast between the rivals’ training grounds in East Dunbartonshire.

When Lennon’s observation that his opposite number was now paying a price for many years of financial mismanagement by Rangers was put to McCoist, he was immediately forced to divert himself from any pre-planned script he intended to use. He proved as sure-footed as ever. “I am a bit surprised if Neil has said that because I think I remember him telling Walter Smith to mind his own business when he said something about Celtic a while ago,” said McCoist.

“I’m not starting a war of words (with Neil) because it’s the last thing the clubs need and it’s the last thing the supporters want to hear, believe it or not. It’s the last thing Scottish football needs, but I would find it surprising if he had said that.”

McCoist was referencing Lennon’s response to Smith’s criticism of Celtic defender Andreas Hinkel after the Old Firm match in May 2010. Smith was unhappy with Hinkel’s pre-match claim that Celtic were better than already-crowned SPL champions Rangers, claiming it was an indication of a lack of professionalism which cost Lennon’s predecessor Tony Mowbray his job.

On that occasion, Lennon said: “It’s not Walter’s place. He’s not the Celtic manager so those comments should be best left to someone at this club. I don’t comment on Rangers, I never have done, certainly not as manager anyway.”

McCoist was clearly keen to keep his response to Lennon’s remarks as measured as possible but, in the politest fashion possible, suggested Rangers’ woes are none of the Celtic manager’s business.

“I don’t think our troubles are directly anything to do with anyone else,” he added. “I will grant you they might be indirectly, but there is nothing directly to do with Celtic, so I would find it surprising and a little bit disappointing. But I have a lot more on my plate than that, to be honest.”

While McCoist did not welcome Lennon’s intervention in the issues which have cast a dark cloud over Rangers, he did accept the basic premise of the Celtic manager’s comments.

“I would have to accept that it is Rangers’ own fault,” added McCoist. “No one has put us in the financial state we are in bar ourselves. Of that there is no doubt. Make no mistake, Rangers must shoulder the responsibility. It’s nobody else’s problem.

“It might be other people’s problem indirectly, but it’s our doing. Our problems are financially based in terms of tax cases and so on, and we might win that case, but it is absolutely of of our own making.”

As he attempts to maintain success on the pitch against such a grim backdrop, McCoist insisted his relationship with club owner Whyte is strong, if not completely without discord.

“We have a good working relationship but we have different jobs to do,” he said. “I have to put a winning football team on the park, Craig has to run a football club from top to bottom.

“But we both have the same goals, the same aims and the same targets. I totally understand Craig’s situation and he totally understands mine. Like any other chairman-manager relationship, I go to him for things in terms of players and finances and he says yes or no.

“I do not have one problem with anything he has said to me in terms of what I can do, who I can get. Because it is the relationship I expected. The one thing he has always been with me is very honest and up front and keeps me involved in all the information, be it the finances or whatever.

“He wants success for the club and I want success for the club, as do all the fans. But there are different ways of getting there. The football club’s job is to maintain sustainability, producing players and having success. Craig won’t do anything to the detriment of that and I understand that. Of course we have disagreements. But the ones we have are due to us coming at our aim to make the club better from two different jobs.”

Asked if he has ever regretted accepting the job as Smith’s successor last year, McCoist delivered a firm “Never”. As daunting as it may be, he still believes he can fulfil his ambition to be a successful Rangers manager.

“It’s going to be difficult but we have to give it a go,” he said. “We are in a sticky situation and I could sit here and paint a black picture. But I’m not doing that because I can’t do that. I have to paint a positive picture out of a difficult situation.

“We had a really encouraging meeting with all of the players on Wednesday after the window closed. Everyone knows where we stand and we all know what is demanded of each other between now and the end of the season.”