Ally McCoist has travelled ‘light years’ since last Celtic visit

ONE day, perhaps when he has retired, or moved far away from his present post, Ally McCoist will be able to look back on the past six months as Rangers manager in a new light. He won’t look back in anger – that emotion has already been spent – and he certainly won’t regard this period as a laughing matter either.

But he may just be able to look back on it fondly, and even with some gratitude, as a time that was the making of him as a football manager. One thing is for sure: he has undergone more in those six months, during which the problems under Craig Whyte’s ownership multiplied until Rangers were put into administration, than anyone in his position might reasonably expect to experience in his whole managerial career.

“I don’t really know how I’d describe it, but it’s certainly been a bit of an experience, the last six months,” he said. “Somewhere down the line we’ll look on it and say ‘What a six months that was’.

“I’ve probably had more experience in the last six months than any manager in world football. I just hope that I can learn from it. It goes without saying you make mistakes, and I have made mistakes. But in terms of the whole experience, if there’s another manager or coach who has gone through something similar, I’d love to sit down with them and have a chat.”

The financial storm clouds may have been gathering at the start of that period, but on the pitch the prospects looked as bright as the manager’s famously sunny disposition. It was almost exactly half a year ago that Rangers last welcomed Celtic to Ibrox, as they will do again tomorrow. They won 4-2 thanks to an irresistible second-half performance, and all the talk at the club was of a fourth successive championship.

It was Celtic who were in disarray then, as they would continue to be for another few weeks, until they turned things round with a second-half comeback of their own, against Kilmarnock. At the time, the recovery from 3-0 down to 3-3 at full-time looked like little more than the snatching of a respectable outcome from what would have been a shameful result. Now, in retrospect, it looks like a lot more than that, as it was the start of a long unbeaten run in the league by Neil Lennon’s side that continues to this day.

Little wonder for McCoist that the day on which his team beat their rivals 4-2 feels a lot more distant than just those six months. “Light-years away,” was the manager’s own estimate.

“It’s bizarre. I was just thinking about it. In many ways it’s strange to think it was the same season.

“It’s incredible, absolutely incredible. I was thinking about that earlier this morning, it does seem like a light-year away, never mind at the start of the season.

“It was definitely a different time. That particular game, I couldn’t believe we went in at half time 2-1 down to be honest. One of the goals we lost was a sensational finish and the other was a poor goal to lose. And I remember asking the boys for a reaction in the second half and, arguably, the second-half performance might be as well as we have played all year.”

How McCoist and Rangers could do with such a performance tomorrow. But he has never shrunk away from Old Firm games, no matter what the consequences of losing may have been, and he insisted he was going into tomorrow’s game in a similarly fearless spirit.

“As the days go on, you really look forward to them. That certainly hasn’t changed over the years, nor will it.

“They are special games, that goes without saying, we’ve said it 100 times. We’re definitely in a little bit better shape for this one than we have been for some of our previous games in terms of personnel, which is obviously very, very important.

“It’s a difficult game for us. That goes without saying, because Celtic will be really wanting to recover from the disappointment of losing their cup final last week and, obviously, it’s a game where we will want to put on a good show and get the right result for us because of everything that is surrounding the club at the moment.”

Besides trying to run the football side of the club, McCoist has also had to attend to business matters, not only with administrators Duff and Phelps, but also with prospective buyers Brian Kennedy and Paul Murray. “I’ve met Brian several times and I’ve met Paul Murray too. Sitting with the Rangers supporters head on, I think both are good, good men.

“They have their own different outlooks on where they would see the club going. They both want it to be a success, but they have their own ideas on how to get there.

“I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the discussions I’ve had with both men. I haven’t met with anyone from America [the Club 9 Sports consortium, which has also tabled an indicative bid], but David Whitehouse, from the administrators, assures me that could happen in due course.

“Brian told me his idea of the way forward, but that is for Brian to tell you if and when it happens. I’m very comfortable with both men and their plans and ideas for the future.”

McCoist hopes his players deal as comfortably with the pressure tomorrow, and insisted self-discipline would be the key for everyone involved in the game both on and off the field. “The importance of the fixture cannot and will not be underestimated by anybody.

“Our fans have shown wonderful spirit and support since the problems have arisen at the club, and I just hope that they continue to do that on Sunday in the right manner. Every individual, be it player, supporter, coach or manager – we all have to understand there is a responsibility on us all to conduct ourselves in the right way.”

So the performances are picking up, the potential owners are men McCoist can work with, and there is the feeling that the worst may just be over for the club. But even allowing for that general improvement at Ibrox, from the position a month ago where there were doubts about Rangers’ ability to fulfil their fixtures, the manager is not so relaxed that he will be able to sit back and enjoy tomorrow’s game. Taking some satisfaction from his club’s continued existence will be as good as it gets – until, he hopes, full-time brings a positive outcome.

“I don’t know if the word ‘enjoy’ would come into my vocabulary. Listen, the welfare of the club has always been the most important thing. It will always be the most important thing.

“I loved the Old Firm matches as a player, in many ways I lived for them. It’s like a drug.

“I don’t know if you enjoy them, but it’s something you look forward to because you need them. I enjoyed them far better as a player, because I was out on the pitch and I could have an influence on the result.

“It’s as much a mental thing with these games. There are certain individuals who can hack it playing for the Old Firm but taking it to another level, it’s only certain individuals who can star in these games.”

It is also only certain individuals who can star in football management. It is too early to say whether McCoist will fit into that category.

But, as the saying goes, what does not kill you makes you stronger, and at the end of the most trying six months in Ibrox history, the man in charge of Rangers is very much alive.