The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
McCoist asks fans to look at bigger picture
Rangers: Cup t&iumph not ‘Be All And end All’, sAys former mAnAger
Ally McCoist does not believe it is the “be all and end all” for Rangers to win the William Hill Scottish Cup this season.
The Ibrox club have not won a major trophy since their financial meltdown in 2012 saw them re-emerge in the bottom tier of Scottish football and, sitting 10 points behind Ladbrokes Premiership leaders Celtic having played a game more, the title is a forlorn hope.
Moreover, their city rivals, chasing their second-successive domestic treble, have to be overcome in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park next month.
However, former Rangers manager and striker McCoist, speaking in a Glasgow hotel at the handover of £15,000 to charity from St Cadoc’s Youth Club, claimed the majority of Rangers fans would be “reasonably satisfied” with steady improvement as they look to chase down Celtic.
He said: “The first trophy since the club has been in the troubles is always going to be very important.
“I don’t think it is the be all and end all that it happens this year.
“It would be great for the supporters if it happened this year. But looking at the bigger picture, as long as there is continued improvement and a better level of quality of player that comes in, I think most of the fans will be reasonably satisfied with that.”
McCoist believes that Gers boss Graeme Murty has done “a more than reasonable” job this season after moving up from the under-20s to take over on a caretaker basis in October – when Pedro Caixinha departed – before being given the job until the end of the season in December.
Murty’s long-term future has been subject to much debate after successive home defeats to Celtic and Kilmarnock this month but McCoist, boss from 2011 to 2014, said: “Obviously it was a couple of bad results for Rangers but overall, looking at it fairly, I think Graeme has done a good job.
“Some of the signings that have come in have improved the team and improved the squad and, as I say, he has done a more than reasonable job.
“I felt Celtic deserved to win but the last two Old Firm games could have gone Rangers’ way.
“That said, Celtic have a better quality of player, certainly in forward areas but I certainly think if there is sensible reinvestment in the Rangers squad that will continue to close the gap.
“There clearly still is a gap but it not as wide as it was a couple of years ago.
“There is still a long, long way to but there has been an improvement.”
However, former Celtic striker Simon Donnelly believes Rangers are experiencing the same sense of powerlessness he felt for a time at Parkhead in the 1990s.
When Donnelly made his Hoops debut in 1994, Rangers were domestic treble winners from the previous season and top dogs in Glasgow before the Parkhead side stopped them achieving 10 titles in a row in 1998.
The tables have turned since then and Brendan Rodgers’ men go into the Hampden cup tie bolstered further by a 3-2 Ladbrokes Premiership win at Ibrox earlier in the month after falling behind twice and finishing with 10 men.
It is a theme recognised by the former Dundee United coach, who said: “Celtic kind of have a hoodoo over Rangers at the moment.
“I experienced that myself back in the day but it was the other way around. It is not a nice feeling and it plays on you.
“I think it played on them at Ibrox. There was that lack of belief as Celtic came back twice. I think they had to get two goals in front to get the real belief.
“I remember being in games and doing really well and they would go up the park and score, whether it was Brian Laudrup, Ally McCoist or Paul Gascoigne. It was difficult to turn that wave.
“You need to try to improve, whether they bring in more quality players, or you look for a break.
“I would expect Celtic to win the semifinal. They are going for a back-to-back treble and I think they have the players that will edge it.”