Aird - Ally McCoist - Rangers Legend

F or four months between February and June 2012 Rangers Football Club was in turmoil and the tortuous administration process and eventual liquidation of the parent company became the elephant in the room. From being an ardent follower of all things Rangers I stepped back a little and rather than engage with all media channels, I became detached, hoping that if I ignored the stories, this awful event would go away. However, although it seemed impossible for an institution the size of Rangers Football Club to be in such a parlous state, I had to face up to the fact that the club was teetering on the brink of football oblivion, and at various stages of our final home fixture of that fateful 2011/12 season against Motherwell I seriously contemplated that this may well have been the last time that I experienced the unique adrenalin rush of watching my heroes at Ibrox.

However, it is often said that where there is light there is hope and throughout this desperate epoch the illuminating source of optimism for me and my fellow followers was a man who epitomises what it is to be a Ranger, Ally McCoist. From the day and hour we slipped into administration, Ally stood up, rallied the troops with some rousing rhetoric and urged us to keep the faith. Although he had always been my football hero since I was a wee boy, McCoist, midway through his debut season as Rangers manager, was now elevating himself to the ranks of footballing immortality.

From the moment I first read about Ally McCoist in the match programme for the 1986 Scottish League Cup semi-final, I have developed a kaleidoscope of magical McCoist memories, with his stunning overhead kick against Hibernian in the 1993 League Cup Final and the spectacular diving header against Leeds United standing out. Then there is the match at Starks Park, Kirkcaldy towards the end of the 1995/96 season when his hat-trick in a last-gasp 4-2 win over Raith Rovers hauled us off the ropes as our hopes of holding off Celtic as we sought an eighth successive league title were taking a pounding. There is no doubt that McCoists goals that day were among the most important he netted for Rangers and that is why this memory sticks out for me. Without them the cherished target of nine-in-a-row may well never have been reached and, for me, this epitomised McCoist and what his presence meant to Rangers; his goal-scoring instinct and ability to score crucial goals meant he was indispensable.

Allys Rangers career may have come to an end over fifteen years ago but the images of him netting goals with breathtaking regularity in that revered royal blue jersey live on. In my opinion this country has not produced anyone of his calibre in the past thirty years and contemporary accounts from previous decades suggest that he is arguably the finest purveyor of the art of goal scoring that Scotland has ever produced. I also believe that McCoist deserves to be mentioned alongside the most potent marksmen who have played in the British Isles Ian Rush, Alan Shearer and their like and it irks me that the reason why he is not is because he plundered the majority of his goals north of Hadrians Wall. Critics also tell us that he was lucky and that he missed more chances than he converted, but McCoist was a natural goal-getter and by the time he had honed and perfected that art in the late 1980s he would have scored goals consistently in any company.

I have always enjoyed reading and writing about Rangers and paid close attention to Allys post-Rangers career too, following the fortunes of Kilmarnock for the three seasons he played in Ayrshire and I rarely missed an episode of A Question of Sport when he was one of the team captains. And in 2007, not long after Ally had returned to Ibrox as assistant manager to Walter Smith, I teamed that passion with the litany of McCoist memories I had, to develop a biographical account of Allys career. The manuscript eventually took shape and I am grateful to John Blake Publishing who believed that Ally McCoist Portrait of a Hero was worthy of publication. This was updated in 2011 and the original incarnation evolved into Ally McCoist Rangers Hero and this latest revision has allowed me to recount the role that Ally has played in one of the most harrowing periods in Rangers 141-year history.

Administration and the subsequent resuscitation of Rangers was a painful experience for everyone with an affinity for the club and I did not relish opening up old wounds when it came to researching this grim episode in our history. I hoped that it might prove cathartic, that finally delving into the details of that ghastly spell would help to heal the scars that were created. In the end the process was far from therapeutic but by focusing on the role that Ally McCoist played in this debacle I drew one clear conclusion: my idol has been a colossus over the last eighteen months. Even neutral observers have to concede that he has gone above and beyond the call of duty during the days when his beloved Rangers lurched towards possible obscurity.

Still a managerial novice and battle weary after spending months fighting fires that he should not have had to fight infernos that even the most experienced football manager would have struggled to douse McCoist found himself in the firing line, with some, including members of the Rangers supporting fraternity, seeing fit to criticise and question his suitability for the managerial role at Rangers. Ally has made some notable mistakes over the period and his tactical approach on occasion has been questioned but how many others have had to cut their managerial teeth at a gargantuan club like Rangers whilst carrying the weight of that clubs woes squarely on their shoulders? There were times when he was spending as much time suited and booted in boardrooms wooing investors and defending the clubs honour as he was on the lush green training pitches at Murray Park readying his players for a forthcoming match. Hopefully now McCoist can focus on managing and coaching his players in season 2013/14 and beyond, leaving all and sundry better placed to assess his managerial credentials. As a reward for the dignity, pride and passion that he has showed in the last eighteen months he deserves the opportunity to lead Rangers back to the pinnacle of the Scottish game.

There are some individuals that Id like to give special mention to, notably Michelle Signore, Allie Collins and latterly Clare Christian at Blake who provided support and understanding throughout the publication process, and Paul Smith, Rob Mason and Richard Cairns who provided valuable assistance and indispensable information about Allys time with St Johnstone, Sunderland and Kilmarnock respectively. I would like to give special mention to the staff at The Mitchell Library in Glasgow too as they were always polite and helpful as I trawled through the archives in my attempts to unearth as much information as I could about one of Scotlands finest and most popular footballers.

Finally I must thank my family for their patience and understanding. My mum and dad have kept me on the right lines and chipped in with a constructive critique when they proofread the manuscript, while my wife Sharon understood how passionate I was about writing this book and she has too often had to play second fiddle as I shaped this tribute to my idol. Sharon has also provided me with two fantastic children, four-year-old Eva and Finlay, who arrived in March 2011. I dedicate this book to them all; they are simply the best!

And I must thank Ally too, not just for the joy he brought during his glittering playing career but also for the role he played during the recent dark days. This man bleeds red, white and blue and I hope somewhere in his office at Murray Park there is a well-thumbed version of one of my books. Hopefully Ally and the Rangers supporters who idolise him just like I do are satisfied with the tribute that I have paid him.