LAW-Ibrox club has not recovered from the loss of former manager Ally McCoist

[pete 2,499]

Rangers midfielder Nicky Law admits the crisis-hit Ibrox club has not recovered from the loss of former manager Ally McCoist

 

11:34, 15 February 2015

By Tony Haggerty

 

RANGERS have lost four of their six games since assistant Kenny McDowall took temporary charge following McCoist's exit.

Mark Runnacles

 

 

NICKY LAW insists the Rangers squad haven’t chucked it for the season with the club in crisis on and off the pitch.

 

But he admits the team still haven’t recovered since manager Ally McCoist was put on gardening leave in December.

 

And Law would love to see his old Motherwell boss Stuart McCall get the chance to revive the fallen giants when caretaker Kenny McDowall also quits at the end of the season.

 

Gers have lost four of their six games since assistant McDowall replaced McCoist at the helm.

 

The 4-0 humiliation by Hibs at Easter Road in late December was followed up with a 2-0 defeat to bitter rivals Celtic in the League Cup semi-final earlier this month.

 

Things then reached crisis point on the field last week when Raith won 2-1 at Ibrox to dump McDowell’s men out of the Scottish Cup.

 

And the Hibees then triumphed 2-0 in Govan on Friday night to leave Rangers a massive 22 points behind runaway Championship

leaders Hearts.

 

With 10 players out of contract this summer, fingers have been pointed at the players for their lack of commitment to the cause.

 

But Law insists that’s nonsense and believes Gers are just struggling without the man who held things together during three crazy years of strife off the field.

 

The Englishman said: “We have a lot of players out of contract at the end of the season and there has been a lot going on with the managerial situation as well.

 

“It’s a strange situation for everyone at the minute but I would certainly say the players have not chucked it.

 

“There are a lot of angry players in there, guys who care.

 

“No one has chucked it and no one has mentioned that.

 

“Since we lost Ally McCoist it has been difficult.

 

“We have lost a lot of games since he went and I don’t think we have really recovered from losing him.

 

“Ally was such a huge figure and he kind of held it all together for everyone as well as he could in

difficult times.

 

“That has been underplayed because of the character he was. Even in tough times he was in here and always in high spirits.

 

“He kept everyone going in that way so it has been difficult, especially for Kenny McDowall who has been put in charge.

 

“Ally did come in for criticism, unfairly I felt, but since he has gone we have lost a lot of games and have not been playing well.

 

“You just have to keep going but it is difficult. We have to galvanise ourselves somehow and try to lift the club and the fans.”

 

Law reckons Gers would definitely get a massive lift if his old mentor McCall took the reins.

 

Everything just clicked at Fir Park during McCall’s tenure as he led the Steelmen to the Scottish Cup Final, Champions League qualifiers and back-to-back runners-up spots in the top flight. Things didn’t go quite so well this season with McCall quitting in November as Well slumped down the table after a poor run of results.

 

But Law reckons the former Ibrox midfielder, who played in the legendary Nine-in-a-Row era, would be a perfect fit as Rangers boss.

 

He said: “Everybody knows how I feel towards Stuart

 

“I have no doubt he would do a fantastic job wherever he goes and it would be no different at Rangers.

 

“He was brilliant at Motherwell and everybody knows the job he did. With him being out of work and also a former Rangers player, people are putting two and two together.

 

“Whoever comes in has a huge job on his hands.

 

“I’m sure Stuart would love a crack at the job and he certainly wouldn’t shy away from it.

 

“We don’t know who will be coming in as manager but Stuart will be towards the front of the queue.

 

“There are good players here but recently we haven’t played well as a team. It’s just not working for Rangers at the minute. You would probably say that from the first game of the season.

 

“The best contrast I can think of was Motherwell – we were a team, it clicked. Sometimes you have that, where 11 players click.

 

“I hate going back to the Motherwell thing but as an 11 we just had everything.

 

“We had pace and everything just fell into place. There were some great partnerships that just worked well in that team.”

 

Fans are in open revolt against the Ibrox board – who could be toppled by Dave King and Co next month at an explosive general meeting in London. And Law admits it has been hard concentrating on the football with so much going on in the background.

 

He said: “The off-field stuff doesn’t help. It does kind of grind you down at times because it’s one thing after another. It has been a turbulent couple of months.”

 

With Rangers so far behind Hearts, Law astonishingly revealed that Rangers are beginning to look down the table instead of up.

 

He said: “It is looking more likely that promotion will be through the play-offs which would be the hardest way to go up.

 

“The way we are going you would say that we are just trying to get into those play-offs – it is that bad.

 

“We are losing games too easily. The squad got together this week and said it had to stop.

 

“We need to pick up results because we are in danger of falling down the league.

 

“At the minute we are looking down rather than up.

 

“I came here to play in the top league. I’m contracted for another year and nobody in the changing room wants another season in the Championship.”

 

Did our losing streak not start when Ally was in charge?

[Laudbertz 0]

Not one for bashing Ally, but... im inclined to think we yet to begin recovery from what Ally did, or more importantly did not do, as manager of the past few years.

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Not one for bashing Ally, but... im inclined to think we yet to begin recovery from what Ally did, or more importantly did not do, as manager of the past few years.

Ally's crippling destruction of our footballing side is something that will take many years to begin to recover from. An absolute fortune has been wasted. We don't have one single positive aspect going for us. If any of our players would command any transfer fees, they would be derisory ones.

[jhunter 0]

Did our losing streak not start when Ally was in charge?

 

we've won 5 of our last 13 games

 

so he's talking absolute bollocks.

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

As for Nicky Law, the less said about him the better. Perhaps he should go back to the middle of the fourth tier of English football. The worst part is he's one of our better players.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

when caretaker Kenny McDowall also quits at the end of the season.

 

Does he know something we don't?

[RANGERRAB 3,742]

McCoist got found out big style in the championship. He had to go.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

We have deteriorated since he left. Not replacing him.was a costly blunder by the board.

[RANGERRAB 3,742]

We have deteriorated since he left. Not replacing him.was a costly blunder by the board.

 

Replacing him with a guy who doesn't want to be there is sheer madness when you're going for promotion

[Waltersgotstyle 307]

I think we are starting to see how Ally held everyone together and kept spirits high - even if his managerial skills were lacking.