McCoist urges Gerrard to splash the cash on Dykes
Livingston striker can fill void left by Morelos, insists all-time top scorer
ONLY having one fit striker, and one who looks set to be sold at that, a few days before the new season kicks off is a scenario which would have given Ally McCoist palpitations when he occupied the Rangers dugout and his side was making its way through the lower leagues.
But being in that position when you are expected to stop Celtic from winning 10-InA-Row? It is little wonder McCoist is relieved he will be watching the Premiership from the altogether less stressful surroundings of the Sky
Sports studio in the 2020/21 campaign.
The Ibrox club’s all-time record goalscorer, though, is confident that Steven Gerrard, the current incumbent of the hotseat, will be well prepared for the inevitable departure of his talismanic front man in the coming days and will have earmarked suitable replacements.
He is certainly confident there is a man who can lead the line for Rangers readily available, for the right fee, just along the M8 at Livingston in the shape of former Queen of the South forward Lyndon Dykes.
“I’m a little bit surprised at the lack of striking options,” said McCoist. “But Steven is an intelligent guy, he knows his squad and knows his team. I’d be even more surprised if a replacement doesn’t come in in the near future.
“I would be staggered if he’s not got one or two irons in the fire. It’s an absolute certainty he’ll have a couple of strikers earmarked.
“I don’t have any doubt that if Morelos goes then Steven will have earmarked at least one centre-forward.
“Jermaine Defoe is out with a hamstring injury and that would mean he’ll be out for a minimum of two weeks anyway.”
Dykes has attracted the attention of both Australia, where he was born and brought up, and Scotland, where his mother and father hail from, as well as of Barnsley, who have had two bids for him rejected this month, after scoring 12 goals for Livingston last season. The Lions have reportedly knocked back seven-figure bids from the English Championship outfit and are holding out for around £2 million.
Yet, McCoist feels parting with that significant sum to secure the services of the 6ft 2in 24-year-old would be a shrewd piece of business by Rangers after Morelos has moved on.
“I’ve been saying for about a year that I would have gone and paid the money for Lyndon Dykes,” he said. “I think the big fella gives you something different. He’s strong, he’s aggressive, he’s quick and he’s scored goals against both Rangers and Celtic.
“I’ve never seen anyone recently give the Celtic defence problems the way he has.
“It’s a gamble, of course it is, but I would take the chance and maybe if Livingston get the right price would sell him.”
McCoist actually suspects that how Rangers perform at the back in the months ahead will have more bearing on whether they can end Celtic’s run of domestic dominance and prevent them from winning a record-breaking 10th consecutive Scottish title than how they fare in attack.
He was of the opinion that their erratic defensive displays were to blame for their challenge unravelling in the second half of last season and has warned if there is any repeat of those failings going forward then their prospects of success are slim.
“You’ve got to look at the pre-Christmas form,” he said. “If you’re looking after that, there’s not a lot of hope, let’s be honest about it.
“You hope they have the same form that they did in first half of last season, because their form after that was not up to scratch, was not title-winning form.
“The hope that Rangers have, quite simply, is the form they had up to that. They’ve got to not only get back to that, they’ve got to sustain it over the full season.
“That’s the hope the Rangers fans have, that they can sustain that form.”
The four clear sheets that Rangers have kept against Lyon, Nice, Motherwell and Coventry City in past fortnight as they have geared up for their opening league encounter with Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday has given McCoist hope.
“I am loath to get carried away with pre-season results,” he said. “I don’t care who you are playing, whether it is Marseille or Brechin City, they are pre-season games for a reason and that is to get your boys prepared for the opening game of the season.
“But the clean sheets were very important because that is how you build up relationships between centre-backs and your defence.
“It has been encouraging. I just felt last year at centreback we weren’t really sure who was turning out, whether it was [Connor] Goldson, [George] Edmundson, [Nikola] Katic, (Filip) Helander.
“The two full-backs [Borna Barisic and James Tavernier] were absolutely excellent going forward, do not have a problem with them going forward.
“But I think Steven probably had a wee word with them regarding defensive duties as well. As I say, it is vitally important. If Rangers can get back to the solid unit which they have been pre-season then it bodes well for them for the season.”
The big fella gives you something different
KRIS Boyd has appealed to players, managers and supporters to lay off referees if they make mistakes when Scottish football resumes after a four-and-a-half month shutdown this weekend.
The interview Boyd and Robert Snodgrass did with Willie Collum on their
TLC podcast this summer highlighted the intense pressure match officials are under and the horrific personal abuse they are often subjected to.
The former Rangers, Kilmarnock and Scotland striker fears the lengthy lay-off caused by the Covid-19 outbreak may have an adverse affect on the performances of referees and linesmen in the coming weeks.
The Sky Sports pundit, who set up his own mental health charity following the tragic death of his brother in 2016, is hopeful they won’t be made scapegoats for team’s defeats.
“I did a podcast with Willie Collum over the break and it was quite powerful,” said Boyd. “We need give referees some leeway with decisions.
“You have Bobby Madden at Pittodrie on Saturday – he has only had one game to referee in pre-season. We are going to have to be lenient with them and not overly criticise them. It’s going to be their first action for a couple of months and they are not going to be up to speed.
“It can be difficult to referee a game at the best of times so if there’s decisions that are wrong then you have to remember a lot of these guys have been off for a long time and it takes a bit of time to get back to normal and up and running.
“They are going to make mistakes, we get that.
But especially this season because, with everything that’s at stake then everyone will be looking to blame someone else for anything that doesn’t go their way.”