McCoist undecided on choice of keeper for trip to Falkirk

McCoist’s predecessor Walter Smith established a pattern of leaving McGregor out of matches in the tournament, allowing his deputy Neil Alexander to taste some competitive first team action.

Alexander has helped Rangers win the League Cup in the past two seasons but, as they begin their defence of the trophy, McCoist has yet to decide who will be between the posts against Steven Pressley’s First Division side.

McCoist insists his dilemma has nothing to do with McGregor’s error in allowing Badr El Kaddouri’s shot to slip through his arms and legs to put Celtic 2-1 ahead in Sunday’s Old Firm showdown at Ibrox. It is instead prompted by his desire to maintain the positive momentum his team created with their second half display in recovering to defeat their great rivals 4-2.

“I’m not sure what we are going to do with the goalkeeper position,” said McCoist. “I’ve got absolutely no worries over Allan McGregor and the fact he kept a clean sheet for us in the second half against Celtic indicates to me that he is absolutely fine.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else because he is a tremendously strong character.

“I don’t know if I will make a lot of changes to the team. Yes, there are a few players we would like to give game time to, but we have to get the balance right. It’s all very well looking at an opportunity to try things out, but we have to win the game. So there is maybe a bigger argument for saying that the boys were absolutely terrific in the second half on Sunday, so why wouldn’t you want them all to start again?”.

As the most successful player in League Cup history, with nine winners’ medals, beginning with his maiden honour for Rangers when he got a hat-trick against Celtic in the 1983-84 final, McCoist’s affection for the tournament is understandable.

“Yes, it means a lot to me,” he admits. “It was good to me as a player, but that is fish and chip paper now. My philosophy is quite simple, I want to win the League Cup. It’s a tournament which has been good to this club in recent seasons and that is because we have treated it with respect. It’s the first piece of silverware up for grabs every season, so it should be important to any manager.”

Minor injuries to strike pairing Nikica Jelavic and Kyle Lafferty may force McCoist to change his line-up, while a knock sustained in training may prevent Australian midfielder Matt McKay making his first starting appearance for Rangers.

McCoist is wary of any vulnerability in his team’s approach to the tie in the aftermath of their thrilling and draining Old Firm success.

“Sunday gave everyone at the club a massive lift,” he said, “but it’s back to business now and we know Steven Pressley will have Falkirk organised and up for this one. As good as Sunday was, it’s history now. This game is equally important for us now and our players have to realise they are potentially a massive scalp for someone in this tournament.”

One department of his team where McCoist may be looking for continuity is in central defence where new signings Carlos Bocanegra and Dorin Goian appear to have the makings of a successful partnership.

“Our understanding and communication is good,” said American international Bocanegra. “We think along the same lines on the pitch and speak all the time in the dressing room. After just four games together, I think we understand each other pretty well already.

“Sunday was a great experience, everything I expected and more, and I felt it was the best overall team performance since I joined the club. We played such a good game that you think ‘Damn, how are we out of Europe?’. Because we have a good team here.

“We can’t worry about Europe now, though, because it’s gone. But if we keep playing the way we did on Sunday, then I would hope we would be right back in it next year.

“We can’t get too high on ourselves, though. Falkirk will be up for this game and we have to match their workrate. The quality we have should take over after that.

“I know this tournament is the first chance to win a medal in Scotland this season and that’s why I came here. I’ve never won a medal in my career so far.”

There is no expectation on Falkirk, although they have only lost one game in their last eleven.

And manager Steven Pressley said: “We have strengths in our side with our ability to pass and move with the ball and the resilience that the players have shown all season. If we use those qualities well in this game you never know what will happen.”

Falkirk are without the banned pair of Kallum Higginbotham and Kieran Duffie and defender Stephen Kingsley remains out through injury.