McCoist wary of ‘ten-point’ talk

Victory at Ibrox today would allow the Scottish champions to strengthen their grasp on top spot, although rivals Celtic would have two games in hand ahead of their clash with Hearts tomorrow.

But McCoist warned that talk is cheap and insists Rangers will have to pull out all the stops to claim victory over a side he believes will pose a real threat.

He said: “It would be a big boost for us, of course it would be, to go ten points clear, albeit Celtic would have two games in hand. It would be a massive boost for us. But you’ve got to earn it. It’s all ifs and buts and if this happens or that happens. We have to go and beat a team who I think are a very, very dangerous team.

“I’m obviously going to say that I would rather we didn’t talk about it. But it’s there, the statistic is there – if we win our game, we will go ten points clear. That is a fact. But we’ve still got to do it. We can talk about it for a long time but the only people who can make it happen are the players out on the park.

“We have been really pleased with the league results but it will take another performance again for us to get those three points. You’d have to say that Celtic will have a chance of winning their game on Sunday so we are doing no more than looking to beat Hibs on Saturday.

“If we do win the game, it will create a gap. But the best way to put it is, I’m not looking to create a gap, I’m looking to win three points.”

Hibs may be languishing in tenth position at the moment but did manage to register a shock 3-0 win at Ibrox last November. McCoist added: “It will be really difficult because we are talking about a side who came to Ibrox at roughly this stage last year and beat us 3-0 very, very comfortably.

“We don’t really need reminded of it but I will give the boys a wee reminder before the game.”

McCoist has almost a full squad to choose from, with only youngster Kane Hemmings and on-loan Arsenal defender Kyle Bartley out of action. Bartley is recovering from a hernia operation and McCoist is hopeful he will be back in contention soon.

He said: “Kyle is out running at the moment and looking really well. I would hope to have him back just after the international break. I’m looking forward to that headache. The injury was a setback but the big lad just wants to play games and it will be great to have him back.”

Matt McKay, meanwhile, has vowed to fight for his place in the Rangers team now that he is fully fit and ready for action.

The Australian midfielder joined this season from Brisbane Roar but his progress has been hampered by a knee injury. He knows competition for a place in McCoist’s plans is fierce but is determined to show the manager what he has to offer. McKay said: “It’s been frustrating but it doesn’t always work out the way you want it.

“I picked up a slight injury that kept me out for about a week after the Old Firm game but I’m back now fully fit and ready to go. The boys are great and they are really good players. I’ve enjoyed watching them play and now I want to be involved.

“We had the reserve game the other day and we had first-team players on the bench in that game so that shows the depth.that we’ve got this year.”