Lunchtime kick-offs are hard to stomach for McCoist and Rangers

RANGERS manager Ally McCoist has expressed his sympathy for the inconvenience caused to supporters by the increasingly contentious scheduling of SPL fixtures.

In a week that has seen followers of Hibs incensed by their club’s game at Motherwell early next month switched to a Friday night as part of an ongoing Clydesdale Bank Premier League pilot scheme, travelling Rangers fans face another early rise this morning for the Scottish champions’ noon kick-off against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Rangers have already played away SPL games at St Johnstone, Inverness, Dundee United, Dunfermline and Hearts this season with early lunchtime kick-offs. McCoist recognises the demands of Sky Sports and ESPN, who currently pay the SPL £13 million a season for the right to televise live matches in the controversial time slots, but feels Rangers fans are being especially put out.

“I feel sorry for fans most of all,” said McCoist. “I fully appreciate that TV dictates a lot and, in terms of the finance they put in, they can dictate when games are and who plays who on TV. But it is asking a lot of our fans to go up to Aberdeen or Inverness, maybe two or three times a year, having to leave at 7am.”

The logistics are clearly less problematic for McCoist’s players who have won all six of their away games in the SPL so far this season without conceding a goal.

“The players can adapt to the circumstances,” added McCoist. “It might not be ideal, but footballers tend to get into a routine where the pre-match is pretty much the same.

“I won’t lie about it, it is very strange having a pre-match meal at 9am in the morning, even I struggle to eat my pasta at that time.

“So it does pose one or two wee hiccups that you could do without, but players adapt to it fairly effectively. But we could play Aberdeen at Pittodrie at any time and it would be much the same. It is a tough place for anybody and especially tough for us, because Aberdeen generally do well against us at Pittodrie.

“I have been going up there for about 28 years now, since I first joined Rangers as a player, and we have always needed to bring the best out of ourselves to get anything. In recent seasons, Aberdeen haven’t been challenging for the championship as they used to when I was playing, but I don’t think any of the edge has been taken out of the fixture because of that.”

McCoist finds himself seeking to outwit two of his former coaches today, having played under Aberdeen manager Craig Brown for Scotland and his assistant Archie Knox when he was number two at Rangers in the 1990s.

He marvels at the longevity of Brown, 71, and Knox, 64, admitting that he struggles to envisage himself still working in management at such an advanced age.

“I’ll be delighted just to have a pulse when I’m 70,” smiled McCoist. “But Craig and Archie are fantastic. Younger coaches and managers coming into the game can only dream of being involved at that level in the way they have done.

“They obviously still do it because they enjoy it. But they are still there because they are good at it.”

Rangers again have the opportunity to open up a 13-point gap over rivals Celtic for at least a few hours today but McCoist insists he is paying little heed to the current differential between the teams.

“It’s an opportunity for us to get another three points, that’s all I’m focusing on,” he said. “Everyone is talking about the ten points between ourselves and Celtic, while Motherwell are going really well in between us. But Celtic have a game in hand, which makes it seven points if they win it. We came back twice from seven points behind Celtic to win titles in recent years, so I’m well aware of the pitfalls and how quickly it can all change.”