Stuart McCall cost Rangers promotion in 2015, claims former Ibrox midfielder

Rangers would have earned promotion at the end of the 2014/15 season were it not for manager Stuart McCall, according to former midfielder Ian Black.

Former Rangers manager Stuart McCall.

The one-cap Scottish international pointed the finger of blame at the Ibrox hero, saying he failed to properly rest the players ahead of their play-off campaign, which culminated in a 6-1 aggregate defeat to Motherwell.

Black spent three seasons in Govan after leaving Hearts in 2012. Most of this time was spent under the guidance of Ally McCoist and he reckons the Rangers legend would have got the club to the Premiership if he'd kept his job.

Former Rangers manager Stuart McCall.

McCall took over for the final months of the 2014/15 Championship season after Kenny McDowall had inherited the job following McCoist being put on gardening leave.

Black told Si Ferry: "I believe we would have went up if he wasn't the manager. He come and never changed that team. Boys were done on their legs, they were out of steam.

"Motherwell were fresh but we had run out of steam. He just played his boys all the time. Honestly, they could have had a 1/10 performance but they still would've played.

"He never freshened it up. We knew we were getting to the playoffs. We knew we were there. So just freshen it up. Recover. But no. He cost us."

Black believes that outside influences played a part in his absence from the team under McCall - though not the type you usually associate with a football club.

"The wee laddie that came in for me [Andy Murdoch], you could tell he wasn't good enough. But I heard through the grapevine that he was in the team because his auntie used to cut Stuart McCall's hair. I'm f***ing telling you. He must have been getting it for free."