‘He was my boss, my second father and then turned into one of my best friends’
McCoist pays tribute to the Rangers legend and his former manager after tragic death at 73
WALTER SMITH was different things to different people. To Ally McCoist, he was everything. The death of Smith on Tuesday, aged just 73, has left a void in Scottish football that will never be filled.
The game and the Rangers Family have lost a legend. McCoist has lost a boss, a friend and father figure.
As news of Smith’s tragic passing filtered through yesterday morning, tributes flooded in for a statesman that transcended rivalry and sport to become one of the most revered and respected in Scottish society.
McCoist knew him as well as anyone and the sense of loss will hit the Ibrox legend hard. Somehow, he was able to put into words what Smith meant to him just hours after hearing the news he had feared for some time.
“He was everything to a lot of folk, myself included,” McCoist told talkSPORT as he fought back tears and paid an emotional tribute to his former manager, colleague and close confidant. “He was my boss, my coach, my second father and then he turned into one of my best friends.
“The loss is absolutely incredible. However, the good thing is he’s not in pain.
“We spoke to Walter on Saturday, we were going to see him on Sunday but he was too unwell.
“We knew that sadly there was an inevitability about this horrible illness and it’d only be a matter of time.
“However, it still does not take away the pain or the grief. At this moment in time, all I can think about is Ethel, Neil and Steven and those grandkids.
“All Walter would’ve wanted was another few years to watch those grandkids play football and spend a lot of time with Jessica and them all.
“That’s the most painful thing for me right now. I could sit here and tell you about Walter Smith until the cows come home; about how good a manager he was; how good a coach; how good a football man he was.
“But I can safely say he was probably the best husband, the best father, the best friend – everything you’d expect in a man. It’s a tragic day, I’m absolutely devastated.”
Smith’s impact on Rangers and the Scottish game can partly be told by the numbers that mark out his remarkable successes over two trophyladen spells at Ibrox.
Yet it was his demeanour – firm but fair, fiercely competitive but always friendly – that formed the basis for many of the warm tributes that were paid to him.
Smith the manager will be forever revered as a legendary figure. Smith the man will be remembered just as fondly.
McCoist said: “He was the best, by some considerable distance. I was 17 when I first played under him for the Scottish youth team.
“I can still remember locking him out on a balcony as a 17-year-old in Monte Carlo and him giving me that look and I let him in very quickly!
“If you’ll allow me to say he was old school because times have moved on but the one thing Walter was, he was 100 per cent honest and fair.
“If he was saying something to you, he wasn’t saying it for effect, he was saying it for a reason because it had to be said.
“He was the most genuine of men. He had a wicked sense of humour and he was brilliant to be around.
“He was loved by everyone, and across the divide, make no mistake about that.
“We love football rivalry, but my phone’s been incredible just now with Celtic friends and supporters, he was just a football man.
“Clearly a Rangers man, along with Mr [Bill] Struth the greatest manager in the club’s history. It will take a wee while to sink in.
“A sore loser, but appreciated losing was part of the game and handled it all with so much dignity and class.”
The relationship between Smith and McCoist flourished even further in the years after they both left Ibrox having delivered nine successive league titles for Rangers.
Smith called on his former striker to be part of his coaching staff with Scotland before they returned home and enjoyed a series of triumphs in Light Blue once again.
But few would see as much of Smith away from the game as McCoist and the pair remained close friends until the end.
McCoist said: “[I have] brilliant memories, phenomenal memories of the man.
“I’m not just talking about football, I’m talking about on the golf course at Turnberry and Loch Lomond, all these kinds of things.
“Just sitting and having a glass of red and a bowl of pasta; I just used to sit and listen and take it all in.
“He loved his music – Bon Jovi, I took him to AC/DC, he didn’t know what AC/DC were all about, and I said ‘come on you, old yin, you’re going to Hampden to see AC/DC.
“Boy did he enjoy that, air guitars were out and everything. Angus Young was on stage, he absolutely loved it.
“He loved his music but he was not having me in the punk rock era at all, it was The Beatles and sixties music or nothing – that was the era to be alive.
“He was really knowledgeable and fantastic company, we used to go away, go for golf, take the girls away for a couple of days at Christmas and it was music quizzes and sport quizzes, you name it. Just wonderful, wonderful memories.”
All Walter would’ve wanted was another few years to watch those grandkids play football