How people remember me means more to me than anything. That’s the important thing
IN 12 months’ t i me, maybe less, Ally McCoist will no longer be the manager of Rangers. How supporters of the club remember him as a man matters greatly.
‘The most important thing for me, and how I handle this situation, is that I can look myself in the mirror,’ said McCoist yesterday.
‘I think of the great people that used to be here; the Greigs, the Jardines, the Smiths and the Wallaces. I’ve got a job to do not to let them down.
‘Everyone will have a different opinion but the only thing that matters i s that the Rangers supporters felt that I did everything I did for them and for the club. That will be the only thing that matters to me.
‘How people remember me means
‘I’ve just tried to do my very best for my club
and our fans’
more to me as a person than anything el s e . That is t he important thing for me.’
Until a few months ago, his legacy was secure. Copper-bottomed.
With 355 goals to his credit, Ally McCoist was — and remains — a Rangers icon. A popular, gregarious character who showed a steely, resolute side to his personality during the bleak winter days of February 2012.
Yet the events of recent weeks have begun to alter perceptions. Supporters — one or two directors as well — see the results and ask why, if he cares for Rangers this much, McCoist doggedly clings to office?
There is no joy in the criticism. It pains Rangers supporters to question the man most still regard as Super Ally.
Legally, many accept he is entitled to every penny he receives. Morally, however, some openly ask now if McCoist should recognise the plight the club are in and ‘ do the decent thing.’ If he should walk away and let someone else deliver value for money — and promotion — on the football pitch.
‘I’ve been trying to do my best for the club and hope people realise that,’ he countered. ‘ That means more than anything to me.
‘ People will have different opinions on my management skills and techniques, but I would hope that even the people who are justified in criticising me would appreciate that the mistakes I have made have been honest ones.
‘As a player, assistant manager and then manager, I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with the supporters. That’s something I value as much as anything. There will be ones who thought I was hopeless as a centre forward or as a manager but the most important thing is that they know that all I’ve tried to do is do my best for them and for the club.’
Time is always the healer with these things. The closest parallel to McCoist is John Greig, the greatest l i ving Ranger who endured a dismal spell as manager before resigning in 1983. Yet, in the years since, they have built a statue in his memory, even if Greig — like McCoist — has been sickened by the events of the last three years.
Inevitably, legends are remembered for what they did on the pitch. In time, the travails of McCoist over the last two years will be forgotten and his relationship with supporters repaired. Distancing himself from the mayhem of recent times was essential for that to happen.
‘I have to be truthful and say that, once I made the decision, there was a sense of relief there,’ he said.
‘I think probably just the last three years or so has been taxing and difficult at times. So there is relief that I will definitely be able to spend time with my family and things like that.’
Nevertheless, the magnitude of McCoist’s decision can hardly be overestimated. He spoke with t r usted all i es, Walter Smith amongst them, before making it. The departure of l ong- t erm, low- earning club employees was also an important factor in the tendering of his resignation.
‘It was a hard decision, but I feel that it was the right one’
‘ I t was one of t he hardest decisions of my life, no doubt. But it is the right decision,’ he said.
When it’s over, he won’t turn his back on football. He couldn’t. Few doubt a long-running dispute with the BBC will be put to one side because he is a television natural. Another crack at management is not out of the question, but there is a caveat.
‘Not in Scotland,’ said McCoist. ‘I don’t know where. I would hate to say something and then it comes back to haunt me. But I don’t think I could manage or coach any other team in Scotland.
‘I love the game. Whether it is coaching somewhere else, or managing somewhere else or being involved in some other capacity, I couldn’t see myself not being involved in football.’
His curriculum vitae features successive promotions from Scotland’s lower leagues. At any other club, sitting second in the promotion race would be grounds f or cel ebration rather t han dismissal or resignation, but McCoist knows better than most how unique t he demands of Rangers can be.
‘I probably think top of the CV would be “can handle management under stressful situations,”’ he grinned. ‘That would be top of the list, up there in bold print. That would be all I could say, really.
‘When I leave, I’ll be in the stand watching with my sons’
‘As I have said before, I think it has been very difficult. Everybody will have their own opinions, which everyone is entitled to, but it is not just as clear- cut as that because there has been a lot of differing and varying factors that have affected my management and would affect anybody else’s management.’
Some of the opinions expressed have c ome f r om unexpected quarters. Rangers messageboards buzzed this week with claims that the relationship between McCoist and his old strike partner Mark Hateley had cooled after t he Englishman allegedly began briefing against him behind his back.
Hateley denies the allegations furiously, but has been unable — so far — to explain himself personally.
‘I’ve not had a chance to speak to Mark,’ said McCoist, ‘but I will. It’s another thing but I’ve got to tell you lads I’m not annoyed and I’m not bothered. Big Mark and I have been through a lot together and we’ll sit down and have a chat. It’s simple.
‘We’re both big boys and, as I say, we’ve been through a lot together.’
Hateley — and Greig — were able to put their status as Rangers favourites to use when they stopped playing. McCoist owns a million shares, but is unable to say how his own relationship with the club will develop when the ill-feeling of recent weeks abates and he is gone.
‘I haven’t thought about that. But I would imagine I will be taking a seat in the stand with my sons and watching the games.’
The plan is to be watching a Rangers team back in the SPFL Premiership. Whether that happens on his watch as manager depends to a huge extent on how the players respond to his resignation in the coming weeks, possibly months. The early signs in Dumfries were deeply unpromising.
‘I can understand people thinking standards might drop among players when they know a manager is leaving,’ said McCoist. ‘But I can assure the supporters we won’t allow that to happen.
‘The standards did drop for the first time last Friday night. There is absolutely no excuse for the level of performance we put in. So we need to reassure people that standards at our club will be very high.’
At Rangers, an ongoing football circus, it’s been some time since anyone was able to say that.