I'm in charge.. until Walter Smith decides it counts, says Rangers' Scottish Cup boss

[Jon 0]

IT'S the worst-kept secret in the business. Yet for the man at the centre of it all, it remains one of the biggest taboos.

 

Ally McCoist might very well be being groomed for the top job at Ibrox. Just don't ask him to talk about it.

 

The truth is, Walter Smith's apprentice could charm his way to a piece at anyone's front door. As a player, he did not merely score goals for club and country - he talked for Scotland too.

 

Even in his brief interlude between playing and coaching McCoist used his charisma and quick wit to forge a career in front of the cameras and almost overnight became as well known to housewives in Grimsby as he had been previously to football fans in Govan. Yes, it's fair to say McCoist could turn talking into an art form.

 

And yet just try mentioning the "M" word and watch him clam up quicker than a luvvie with stagefright.

 

As has become the norm ahead of Scottish Cup ties, McCoist was wheeled out to take the pre-match press conference at Murray Park yesterday. It's all part of a very public learning curve which might one day lead to him calling all the shots on a full-time basis, when Smith decides his own time has come and gone.

 

Yet McCoist seems strangely ill at ease with this awkward mantle of manager in waiting. He may very well want this gig more than any other - but his respect for the man currently in charge would never let him admit it.

 

As, deferentially, he picked his way through his duties ahead of the fifth round tie at Forfar, McCoist said: "Yes, I'm in charge...well, I'm in charge up to a point."

 

Up to a point? What exactly is that point?

 

Just exactly how much control is Smith prepared to concede as McCoist's mentoring continues?

 

McCoist added: "The point is you know him better than me. I get to do a lot of the stuff...until it counts!

 

"It's great. I do the team talks and have a say in picking the team but that's very much the same as we usually go about it. I also do all the video analysis and I really enjoy it.

 

"The whole package entails a lot more than just sitting in the dugout on a Saturday so this is all part of the learning curve for me - even sitting here talking to you guys.

 

"I really enjoy it and the fact we were successful in the tournament last year makes me and hopefully the players want to go and retain the trophy because it's a nice day out at the end of the season."

 

Yet the stark truth is that McCoist's future depends almost entirely on Smith's success in the here and the now. One wrong move tonight at Station Park, for example, and this double act would come under enormous pressure. In fact, should Rangers fail to win the SPL title this season thenMcCoist's long-term ambitions might not survive the inevitable clamour for retribution.

 

Quite simply, for McCoist in particular, the stakes could hardly be any higher. Even though he would never admit it.

 

He said: "It's more massive for the club than it is for me. The club is all that matters.

 

We have to go to Forfar and win. It's simple.

 

"Yes, I enjoy taking the team and all being well we'll carry on where we left off last season but the club is bigger than any individual. It's far more important than that."

 

It will be the job of McCoist to impress upon his players precisely how important it is that Rangers avoid humiliation when Sky's TV crews rumble into the humble home of the bridie tonight.

 

And that is the coach's most immediate concern.

 

McCoist said: "This is where the players find out what playing for Rangers is all about. You come off an Old Firm game, in front of 60,000 fans, and then you're travelling up to take on Dick Campbell's Forfar.

 

"I do mean this in a respectful way but it genuinely is from one extreme to the other.

 

But that's what it's all about at this club. It's a great leveller but it shows our players what it entails to play for this club - all in the space of four days.

 

"It's easy to get motivated and ready for a Rangers-Celtic game. The question is, 'Can you do the same for Forfar away?' "As Rangers players, the answer has to be 'yes'. That's the one ingredient a Rangers player must have - the same attitude and desire to win no matter who the opposition are.

 

"It's not an easy thing to do and the football graveyard is full of players from Rangers and Celtic who haven't been able to do it.

 

"I would hope that the motivational part of it is not as difficult as some people might think because we are holders of the trophy.

 

We are in every domestic competition and we want to win every game.

 

"Also, these players are fighting for places in the team. There is a lot of competition for places and that should bring out an element of personal pride.

 

"Football players do have massive egos and no one likes not being in the team. So there is a lot for these guys to play for - there is everything to play for in fact.

 

"They have to realise what an opportunity this is for the Forfar boys - this is their big throw of the dice. The game is live on Sky and they might never get an opportunity like this again. You would kick your granny for a chance like this. Dick probably has!

 

"But what we have to do is earn the right to play against them - we have to stand up to them, show them respect and match their aggression. If we can do that then our better football players should be able to come through and win the game."

 

Assuming McCoist's message sinks in and his Rangers side survives unscathed, they will be one game closer to a possible domestic clean sweep.

 

Now that is the kind of sparkling end-of season haul which just might smooth McCoist' passage into pole position. In fact, come to think of it, it would provide Smith with a damn-near perfect scenario should he wish to hand over power.

 

But guess what? McCoist isn't keen on discussing that either.

 

He said: "You don't set targets like trebles or quadruples. You just can't afford to take your eye off the ball in any of the tournaments. I won't lie - I think about the league championship more than anything.

 

"I want to win the Scottish Cup and the League Cup but the one I think about more than anything is the title.

 

"But we don't have a league match for four or five days so the most important thing is to concentrate on getting through to the next round of the Cup."

 

Yep, McCoist is getting the hang of this management malarkey all right.

 

When he has finally learned how to speak all day and yet say nothing at all then his moment will have well and truly arrived.

 

I'm not sure what the general opinion on here is but agree with a lot that the above says. It seems clear Coisty is being groomed for the next managers job. Will his love and passion for the club prove to be enough though?

[Frankie 8,394]

Don't fancy McCoist as a manager at all. While we may have won the Scottish Cup last year I don't think he's capable of being a successful manager.

[gisabeer 409]

After his statement about winning first and entertainment second I am not looking forward to him being manager.

 

If thats his attitude then we may as well not bother turning up at all.

[Gazza_8 233]

No way!

 

Any coach/ass man who has been groomed under WS is bad news. It'll be the same old dire shite we'll be subject to on the pitch!

[Norris Cole 0]

Great guy, but completely unproven at managerial level (as was Smith but he was given an awful lot of money and inherited some genuine class players from Souness). He did win the Scottish Cup last season, but it took two replays - one after drawing against lower division opposition at home - and an almighty struggle against Queen of the South in the final. I also wouldn't like him to get the job because I'd be petrified of such a legend of the club going down in the estimation of myself and so many supporters, which is what would happen if he went a couple of years without winning the league. When I was growing up McCoist walked on water.

[DJBlue72 0]

Don't fancy McCoist as a manager at all. While we may have won the Scottish Cup last year I don't think he's capable of being a successful manager.

 

You cant question his passion and Loyalty to the club , but my worry is he will have picked up Walters bad habits and negativety along the way and will transfer to his own way of thinking...lets hope not if he is appointed somewere along the line.

[maineflyer 0]

Nope, it would be a bad decision. Love the guy to pieces and worshipped the ground he scored goals on but in my opinion he is not the manager we need.

[craig 5,199]

Nope, it would be a bad decision. Love the guy to pieces and worshipped the ground he scored goals on but in my opinion he is not the manager we need.

 

Slightly off topic but just who IS the manager we need ?

 

I would be curious as to who we think it could/should be and why that particular person.

 

Perhaps this is deserving of its own thread though.

 

Once upon a time we were a very attractive club to potential managers and that attraction seems to have somewhat diluted.

[Guest Gauche.]

Putting McCoist in the job would be a mistake in my opinion.He needs a lot more experience.If he was manager at a different club for a few years it would give him the time to prove himself as a boss.

[Frankie 8,394]

Putting McCoist in the job would be a mistake in my opinion.He needs a lot more experience.If he was manager at a different club for a few years it would give him the time to prove himself as a boss.

 

Agree with that.

 

Welcome to Gersnet mate.