Sir David Murray has expressed his wish that Ally McCoist succeeds Walter Smith as manager of Rangers. The chairman added the essential caveat, though, that McCoist's prospects hinge on Smith's ability to reclaim the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
SIR David Murray has expressed his wish that Ally McCoist succeeds Walter Smith as manager of Rangers.
The chairman added the essential caveat, though, that McCoist's prospects hinge on Smith's ability to reclaim the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and prevent Celtic from claiming a fourth successive title.
Murray confirmed his preference for internal promotion during part of a wide-ranging issue covering the past, present and future after celebrating 20 years as chairman. McCoist, Rangers' greatest goalscorer of all time, is the popular choice to replace Smith when the 60-year-old decides to step away from front-line management.
It is widely speculated that Ian Durrant will step-up from his role as first-team coach to join McCoist and Kenny McDowall when Smith's contract expires in two years.
Murray insists no such plans have been discussed, even informally, and warned that any future appointment under his stewardship would be borne out of circumstance and not sentimentality.
"I would have thought, being open and honest, that it will be success driven," he said. "If we're successful and Walter is successful, a natural successor would be McCoist.
"It's not been talked about, but it is an understanding. I hope for him that he gets it but if we go through three years without winning the league, we'll be under the same pressure as every club."
Murray extolled the virtues of McCoist, whose bubbly personality belies a serious professionalism. Management in his own right, though, would vindicate his decision to take a significant drop in salary to help revive Rangers after the ill-fated Paul Le Guen era.
"You wouldn't have thought so 20 years ago, but he's a very strong boy," said Murray. "He has a strong mentality. He's bright and he and Kenny are a good team. Walter and I discussed that Coisty would come in and hopefully we would get back to a successful period. He didn't come here for money; he came here for a lot less than he was earning."
