Ally McCoist trying to stay positive despite bleak background of debts

ALTHOUGH Rangers will tonight continue on their quest for an improbable treble, Ally McCoist has admitted that even he can't bear to think about Rangers' long-term prospects at times.

While the immediate future is something to relish there is an uncertainty which must strike at the heart all of involved with the Ibrox club at present. Even the reliably upbeat McCoist yesterday admitted he falls prey to moments when thoughts stray beyond the end of the season, and what the future holds for the club he has adored since he was a boy.

He insisted that his own ambitions to succeed Walter Smith as manager must be considered a side-issue when compared to the needs of the club. The assistant manager also applauded those players who have put to one side their own contractual concerns as they bid to complete what would form a historic and unlikely treble. Skipper David Weir, top goalscorer Kris Boyd and Nacho Novo are among those whose deals with the club expire at the end of the current campaign. In an effort to prevent distraction from his duties on the pitch, Novo yesterday said he had instructed his agent not to involve him in on-going talks with the club.

"Some of the boys have got contract issues and they never mention it," said McCoist. "They just get their work done. They have to have concerns about it too – of course they have. But they are handling it really well, and they are appreciative of the fact that the club is the most important thing."

Rangers remain up for sale and heavily burdened by debt and have been hampered in their efforts to hang on to such prize assets as Boyd. Some fear the ingredients are there to deliver the club back to the grim days prior to the arrival of Graeme Souness in 1986, when Rangers were not considered to be among those challenging for the league championship. McCoist does not want to even contemplate this down-scaling of ambition. It is a particularly relevant fear for the former striker, since he could well be asked to steer the club through whatever stormy waters lie ahead.

"I couldn't see it," he said, when asked whether the bleak days of the early Eighties at Ibrox – which he experienced as a player – could be revisited. "But to be brutally honest, maybe it is because I don't want to look at that big picture. It's not through ignorance. I am obviously a half-full person rather than a half-empty one.

"I just think we will be OK. In Graeme's first game as manager we had to beat Motherwell just to qualify for Europe. I remember those days. But I would be certainly hopeful it would not return to that kind of situation.

"It's only a worry for me because it's my football club – and has been since I was a wee boy," he added. "Hopefully we can sort it out in the near rather than distant future. The stripping of this club's assets is something no supporter would want to see."

The immediate future is a much more palatable thought for Rangers supporters. The Ibrox side entertain St Mirren this evening in a fifth-round Active Native Scottish Cup replay and then on Saturday lunchtime will aim to go 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a victory in Perth against St Johnstone.

The chances that these outings will end with positive outcomes for Rangers have increased due to an easing in the injury situation at the club.

The return of in-form strikers Boyd and Kenny Miller has heartened Rangers ahead of a critical period, with nearest challengers Celtic due to be faced at Ibrox a week this Sunday. There was further good news for Rangers yesterday when DaMarcus Beasley came through a half of a bounce game against Kilmarnock at Murray Park as he bids to improve his match fitness.

"We are in a lot better shape than we were maybe three weeks ago," said McCoist. "Back then we were all concerned about having players injured. For us to be successful we have to have a reasonably clean bill of health."

Meanwhile, St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson has told the Scottish Football Review Committee less talk and more action is needed if they are going to improve the game north of the Border.

Former First Minister Henry McLeish was appointed to lead the review by the Scottish Football Association a year ago but the Saints manager remains sceptical about the merits of such investigations.

"It shouldn't be about dialogue," he said. "Whatever this group decides is required has to be put into action. There is no point just coming up with ideas – we need action now."

Asked what he would like to see change, MacPherson said: "Personally, I think the SPL should be bigger. We should have 16 teams in the league. We also have to look at the whole youth structuring."

MacPherson is also looking for action from his players who are still reeling from Saturday's last gasp 2-1 defeat to Dundee United.

"This is a fantastic game for them to go back into," said MacPherson.

"Rangers are formidable at home but we have to defend well and be positive."