Ally McCoist has offered to quit as Rangers manager but the Ibrox board may not accept his resignation, according to reports.

It is understood he has tendered his resignation and one report suggests he will leave the club when his contract runs out at the end of the season.

Another report has suggested that the board will attempt to broker a deal that will see McCoist leave earlier than that as Rangers battle to close the nine-point gap between them and Hearts at the top of SPFL division one.

A third unconfirmed report said the Ibrox board might refuse to accept the resignation.

McCoist, 52, has a 12-month rolling contract with Rangers, who are refusing to comment on the situation.

A spokesperson for the club offered a brief "no comment"  and it is believed McCoist will travel with the team as usual for the Friday evening league game at Queen of the South in Dumfries.

The Rangers team bus left the club's Murray Park training ground for the game against Queen of the South by a back exit on Friday afternoon, although it was not clear if McCoist was on board.

The options for the beleaguered board appear to be:

* paying McCoist's salary in full

* keeping him in place for the next 12 months

* negotiating a settlement.

One bookmaker immediately installed former Rangers players Stuart McCall and Terry Butcher as 3/1 joint favourites to become the next Ibrox boss.

Another former Ger, Billy Davies, is next in the betting at 10/1.

Read Graham Spiers' verdict on McCoist from last week

McCoist has been under intense pressure in recent months. Since Rangers' liquidation and readmission into senior football he has relied on a squad of seasoned players to win promotion from the fourth and third divisions relatively easily.

However, this year, many fans feel that policy is not working, leaving the club with a group struggling to win enough points to gain either automatic or play-off promotion to the top tier of Scottish football - and with very few new young talents emerging in the ranks.

For many Rangers diehards, one of the final straws was the recent Petrofac Cup 3-2 semi-final defeat by Alloa.

McCoist, a true legend in his time as a player at Ibrox, has since had to endure regular chants of "Ally, Ally get to f***".

Today's reports, if confirmed, suggest that he is finally ready to walk away from the club he loves. McCoist was a real Ibrox favourite as a player, scoring 355 goals in all and was part of the Rangers team which won nine league titles in a row in the 1980s and 1990s.

McCoist's tenure as boss since taking over from Walter Smith in 2011 has been far from plain sailing.

Supporters' criticism of his tactics and signings have increased this season in the wake of some poor performances and results.

Aside from defeats to Championship rivals Hearts and Hibernian, the Gers have failed to beat Alloa in three attempts, with the recent 3-2 cup defeat to The Wasps - after blowing a two-goal lead - bringing McCoist's managerial abilities under even more intense scrutiny.

McCoist, who had been assistant to Smith, led Rangers through a turbulent time in the club's history.

Rangers entered administration in February, 2012 before liquidation saw them resume in the lowest tier of Scottish football.

The former Scotland striker had famously said: "We don't do walking away" at the height of the club's crisis which strengthened his hero status in the eyes of the supporters.

However, two successive title wins were no more than was expected for a club who continued to spend big money on players' wages.

Despite being unbeaten on his way to the League One title last season, McCoist was pilloried for Scottish League Cup defeats to Forfar and a loss in the Challenge Cup final to Raith Rovers.

In addition to general disgruntlement at Rangers' performances and style of play, the seemingly-endless battle for power at the cash-strapped club over the past few years has left many fans disillusioned and that has led to falling attendances at Ibrox.