Weir vows to walk away from Ibrox if he stops getting picked

RANGERS captain David Weir will walk away from the Ibrox club if he cannot force his way back into the team, he has revealed.

Expected to be fit again within the week after a month out with hamstring injury, Weir can no longer be considered an automatic first choice following manager Ally McCoist’s recruitment of centre-backs Dorin Goian and Carlos Bocanegra.

Weir confessed that at the age of 41 he would not continue to make the commute to Glasgow from his family home in Cheshire if he is forced to settle for a place on the bench.

“I always had an agreement with Walter [Smith] that if I wasn’t playing I’d shake hands and go home,” said Weir, speaking at the launch of his autobiography, Extra Time.

“I discussed this with Ally when I signed my [latest one-year] contract and he’s been part of the discussions before. That’s always been my way of doing things. I spent time on the bench at Everton and I couldn’t get away quick enough. It’s not what you want to do; you want to play. So if I was on the bench, then I don’t imagine I’d be doing that for long.

“That is basically the agreement I’ve had and I don’t think it will ever change. If it becomes the case [that I’m not playing], then that’s what I’ll do [leave Rangers]. There is no point in me being here if I’m not playing. If I was fit and not playing then I wouldn’t think I could do myself justice. Up until now I haven’t had that problem. If I do have that problem, I’ll have to address it.”

Weir has captained Rangers to three successive championships and missed just three league matches over the course of these campaigns.

McCoist, meanwhile, has accused outside bodies of “making a drama out of a crisis” with regard to the Old Firm. With a week to go to the first Rangers v Celtic match of the season, events off the pitch are dominating the run up, with parliamentary debate on laws that may or may not help to end sectarianism in football.

McCoist chose his words very carefully, saying: “With the greatest of respect, and I look at these things as part of my job, I would never understate the importance of it, but sometimes some people like to make a drama out of a crisis.

“We’ve got governments getting involved when two managers square up to each other. I’ll never understate it or shirk my responsibilities, but, hey, come on, let’s calm down everybody and talk about football again. If issues need addressing, let’s address them, but let’s calm down. I think everybody is becoming frustrated by it. We’re all in the same boat, we all just want to talk about and enjoy the football.

“I honestly think, especially the Old Firm fans, the behaviour in recent seasons has been fine. There have been one or two misdemeanours from a minority, you’re always going to get that, but I have to say over recent years it’s been far better behaved and better policed.

“The Old Firm fans, the players, the managing and coaching staff, if they don’t know now about the responsibilities they have, then they’ll never know.”