Rangers v Malmo: Ally McCoist hoping for Swede dreams as Rangers look to end 55 years of hurt

A FRANK admission, albeit one that is not altogether surprising. "I'm probably the same as most managers and coaches, in that I only pay attention to the statistics that suit me!"

It is that kind of selectiveness which could yet save Ally McCoist his sanity. As thick-skinned as he has had to be as a player for an Old Firm side, as manager there will be many more blows. If he had not learned that at the shoulder of Walter Smith as he served his apprenticeship en route to his current managerial role, the first couple of competitive matches will have been a clear indication.

Failure to collect all three points on the opening day of the season was followed up with a 1-0 defeat at home to Malmo in Tuesday night's Champions League qualifier. It handed the Swedes the initiative and, whether McCoist wanted to dwell on it or not, another statistic was dusted down. In 55 years of playing in Europe, Rangers have never recovered from losing the first leg of a tie at home to ultimately go through to the next stage. "That one is definitely there to be changed and put right," said the Ibrox manager. "That's been far too long and hopefully we can do something about that."

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Having been booed off their own turf by their own fans, there is a salvage operation required in Sweden on Wednesday night and it might not be a bad thing that UEFA have banned the Ibrox fans from travelling. Old Firm followers do not offer their teams much breathing space, with the bedding-in period seemingly getting shorter and shorter. McCoist need only cast his mind back to 2008 for a reminder of how unacceptable defeat in Europe is considered so early in the campaign. That was the year Rangers lost out to Kaunas and it prompted mass hysteria, yet there is consolation in memories as well as statistics.

McCoist does not want to contemplate defeat this week, believing that as his side created several openings while struggling to find their best form. Should they successfully up their game then enough of those chances would be converted to see them through. But even if the game doesn't go to plan, while others are wringing hands and calling for blood, he can take solace in the past.

Rangers bounced back from that Kaunas upset. They may not have revelled in the wonders of European competition that season but they completed the domestic double, winning the SPL and Scottish Cup. He might not admit it but, privately, if you offered the new Rangers boss that now, he would undoubtedly consider it a decent haul in his debut term. It was a similar case for Gordon Strachan, who bounced back from worse than a 1-0 loss to Malmo.

In his fledgling season as Celtic boss, his team had a similar start to the campaign.They dropped points in their league curtain-raiser, and caved in 5-0 away to Artmedia Bratislava. Pundits were quickly posted sentry, offering almost day-by-day commentary on the projected future of the former Scotland star as Celtic boss. That morbid fascination is now focused on McCoist's long-term employment prospects. Knee-jerk is what football, and Old Firm fans in particular, do best.

Celtic battled back 4-0 in the return leg but while that wasn't enough to extend their 2005-6 Champions League dream, Strachan survived. He did so by ensuring that a domestic double - this time the SPL title and League Cup - was served up to soothed the pain. But they were aided in that cause by a Rangers side who struggled to get off to a blistering start themselves that year, failing to capitalise on those initial stumbles to leave Celtic trailing in their dust. Whether Neil Lennon's men are in such a benevolent mood this season would be doubtful.

"If we can turn this around the way Celtic did against Artmedia then we will settle for that," said McCoist. "I know they didn't go through and we want to do that but if you look at the contrast between the first and second leg, the contrast was incredible. And while Malmo are a good side, I just feel that in the second half we created four or five right good chances without actually playing that well."

Against a team who are already midway through their campaign, McCoist said another 90 minutes against St Johnstone yesterday takes them closer to emulating Malmo's match sharpness and hopefully getting off to a brighter start over there. But Rangers have been slow starters, last year as well as this year. It was a problem which left Smith scratching his head last term and McCoist has inherited the dilemma.

"I have watched the game a couple of times, on Tuesday night and again since then, and first half we probably, and I know this sounds crazy, but I think we probably did show them too much respect. We sat off the ball a bit and didn't pressurise them. I honestly believe we will go over there and do a lot better and I don't have any doubts about that. Although our goalkeeper made a couple of good saves, I think it's safe to say that we could have scored two or three ourselves."

There is some basis for his optimism given Rangers' propensity over the past 12 months for following up sloppy opening periods with second-half comebacks.

"Of course, we talked about it with the players last season and it has already been talked about this season although, with the greatest respect, I thought Hearts started so well they made it hard for us, but with Malmo we just didn't go and press them, but we did that in the second half.

"We certainly haven't been bursting out the blocks in our first two games.It is the same group of players who were so successful and maybe they are looking to each other to make something happen rather than taking the onus on themselves, which is certainly what they did in the last ten to 12 games of last season. It is a little bit of a concern but we have far too many good players not to find a remedy for it. We need to come out the traps a lot sharper."

Concerns, remedies and that damned statistic. There is a lot in the melting point as Rangers head to Sweden but McCoist is refusing to be bogged down by anything negative. He admits that, while it may seem it at the time, it wouldn't be the end of the world to lose the tie. Both Rangers and Celtic have done it in recent years and rebounded well.

But it's not a scenario he is dwelling on anyway. "I don't want to talk about going out because we are not out. I have got to be positive and send positive vibes to the players and the supporters that we can go across there and get the result we want."