McCoist calls on Ibrox fans to give Scots their backing

RANGERS manager Ally McCoist has urged his club’s supporters to give their full backing to Scotland in the face of calls to boycott the national team. Fans of the Ibrox club have sought to establish a narrative that presents them as victims of persecution by the Scottish Football Association. It follows the governing body’s imposition of a transfer embargo and their part in the discussions to allow Charles Green’s Rangers to start out in the Third Division.

Attitudes towards the national team have been further hardened by the booing of Rangers midfielder Ian Black in the friendly win over Australia at Easter Road last month. However, McCoist, who last week was handed a three-match ban suspended for a year by the SFA over his demands for the public naming of the judicial panel who made the original ruling on the transfer embargo, has thrown his weight behind Craig Levein’s side as they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign against Serbia on Saturday.

“I would encourage everybody to support Scotland, that goes without saying,” McCoist stated. “I think Ian’s treatment wasn’t right. We call ourselves the best fans in the world but we have a funny way of showing it sometimes. But I’m over it and I know Ian’s over it, but I for one will be cheering on Scotland as much as the next member of the Tartan Army and Craig deserves the support from everyone in the country.

“It is absolutely the case that Rangers fans have been traditionally Scotland fans. You go back to the team we had, we had about seven or eight in the squad: [Andy] Goram, [Richard] Gough, myself, [Gordon] Durie, [Stuart] McCall, [Ian] Durrant, {David Robertson]... I think it’s healthy that the Scottish team is supported across the board.

“It’s always been the case that Rangers and Celtic have always been well represented in the team. It’s looking a bit sparse for us at the moment due to circumstances but that doesn’t mean to say we don’t need to support them. I’ve got the national team and the SFA down as two separate entities and I hope the fans can manage that too.”

Meanwhile, the Ibrox club are awaiting international clearance to confirm the signing of Australian forward Francesco Stella.