Ally McCoist dealt crushing blow by failure to replace Nikica Jelavic

AS a man fond of a punt, to the extent he once famously incurred the wrath of Graeme Souness by taking an unauthorised trip to the Cheltenham Festival, Ally McCoist might just have afforded himself a wry smile at betting being suspended by two bookmakers yesterday on his demise as Rangers manager.

But even for someone capable of finding an element of humour in most situations, the circumstances McCoist awoke to following the closure of the January transfer window were no laughing matter.

Such was his grim countenance when he left Ibrox on Tuesday night, after a meeting with chairman Craig Whyte when it became clear he would not be able to reinvest any of the proceeds from the £5.5 million sale of Nikica Jelavic to Everton before the 11pm deadline, the Glasgow rumour mill went into overdrive with declarations and predictions of his imminent resignation.

Paddy Power withdrew their market on McCoist being the next SPL manager to leave his post yesterday morning, odds of 5-1 having been cut to 7-4 within a few hours, before Scottish firm McBookie followed suit after seeing their price of 6-4 on McCoist to leave Rangers too heavily backed for their comfort.

The speculation is inevitable, but even when faced with the severely compromised position he now finds himself in, McCoist is not about to give up the job he accepted with such a sense of pride and anticipation last year.

Whether that decision is taken out of his hands over the coming weeks and months will depend on a variety of factors, many of them off the pitch as Whyte confronts the club’s dire financial position.

McCoist can only concern himself with the immediate footballing task in hand as he attempts to galvanise and utilise the playing squad left at his disposal with sufficient effectiveness to retain the Scottish Premier League title. To do so, he is going to require the kind of alchemist’s touch which brought him so many goals and multiple trophy triumphs as a Rangers player.

Across the city, Celtic have emerged from the January transfer window still in possession of all of their key first-team players and with the addition of three new recruits, including experienced striking back-up in the shape of Polish international Pawel Brozek.

McCoist, whose own hopes of signing Brozek never reached first base, has lost 17-goal top scorer Jelavic without a replacement. His only new addition in January was Swedish attacking midfielder Mervan Celik, who may prove to be a useful player but is not going to compensate for the loss of Jelavic’s scoring prowess.

In his defence of Rangers’ transfer market business since he bought the club, Whyte observed in his open letter to Rangers supporters on Tuesday that McCoist had a 30-man first-team squad at his disposal, of which 18 were full internationals.

Although factually accurate, Whyte’s description of McCoist’s current resources hardly tells the full story. The 30-man roster includes three players who have been loaned out in January for the rest of the season – John Fleck (Blackpool), Juan Manuel Ortiz (Almeria) and Kyle Hutton (Dunfermline).

Of the remaining 27, two are back-up goalkeepers Neil Alexander and Scott Gallacher. It leaves McCoist with 25 players to choose from, including first- choice ‘keeper Allan McGregor, which on the face of it is a healthy enough position for any manager.

But amongst that number are eight players who must be regarded as either fringe men or still unproven at SPL level for Rangers – summer signings Matt McKay and Alejandro Bedoya, recent capture Celik, unheralded Salim Kerkar, utility man Andy Little and the youthful trio of Ross Perry, Kane Hemmings and Rhys McCabe.

That takes McCoist’s current core first-team squad down to 17, of which five are currently sidelined by injury – Steven Whittaker, Kirk Broadfoot, Jamie Ness, Steven Naismith and Kyle Lafferty. The remaining 12 are the men McCoist must rely on to maintain an interest in both the title race and Scottish Cup over the next few weeks.

With McGregor behind a back four of Kyle Bartley, Dorin Goian, Carlos Bocanegra and Sasa Papac, a midfield of Lee McCulloch, Steven Davis, Maurice Edu and Lee Wallace supporting a front two of Sone Aluko and David Healy, with Gregg Wylde providing impact from the bench, Rangers should remain capable of winning more matches than they lose. But they are clearly vulnerable to further injuries and suspensions. Both Edu and Bocanegra, for example, are just one booking away from a ban, as is Lafferty when he returns to action.

Unlike Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who has experienced cover for just about every position in his team, McCoist faces the prospect of having to call upon players he does not believe are either ready or of sufficient quality to play for Rangers.

Unless he can uncover a free agent over the next few weeks, as he did with the capture of the thus far impressive Aluko in November, the die is now cast for McCoist as he attempts to make a success of his first season in charge of the club he loves. For the moment, because of circumstances largely outwith his control, the odds will remain heavily stacked on the prospect of it also being his last.