MARK HATELEY’S criticism of the Rangers players’ fitness levels last season was the latest in a growing line of public digs at the stewardship of his one-time strike partner Ally McCoist.
It may have been Jim Henry who was responsible for the physical condition of those who represented the Ibrox club on the field of play during the 2014/15 campaign.
Yet Hateley’s remarks at the League Cup second-round draw at Hampden last week were essentially another slight on the professionalism of a former team-mate he no longer enjoys an especially cordial relationship with.
Having attended the vast majority of the Glasgow club’s matches as they attempted to win promotion from the Championship to the top-flight, the Englishman’s comments didn’t particularly resonate.
There were, for me, many other factors, for which McCoist was far from blameless, which contributed more to Rangers’ failure to secure a place in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Hateley’s jibes, though, were nothing new. Many have put the boot into McCoist’s management since he tendered his resignation in December and was placed on gardening leave for the duration of his 12-month notice period by the then board.
David Templeton, who fell out of favour towards the end of the legendary centre forward’s time in charge, was particularly scathing in his assessment. “I don’t think we were being coached the right way,” he said.
Even Nicky Law, as pleasant a man as you could hope to meet in Scottish football, was far from complimentary about the play which was produced under his old gaffer. “The ball was always in the air,” he remarked.
Venture onto the worldwide web and you find the legions of Rangers supporters who air their views on internet messageboards and Twitter – in the majority of cases anonymously – are even more derogatory about McCoist’s abilities and actions during his three-and-a-half year tenure.
The fact he is being paid £60,000 a month by a club which is still, despite a change of hierarchy, struggling to address serious financial difficulties has angered many. If Super Ally loves Rangers, a lot of people have asked, why is he draining the club of much-needed resources?
There has been widespread unhappiness with his personal arrangements since the former regime made the details of their manager’s £750,000 annual salary public in a deliberate and highly successful attempt to discredit and undermine him.
The shares he acquired after the Charles Green-led takeover in 2012 have also, despite him proxying them to his late father’s supporters club in East Kilbride before the agm the following year, displeased more than a few.
McCoist, who, along with his players, worked for nothing after the Ibrox club was placed into administration, agreed to halve the pay package he was given when he took over from Walter Smith at the beginning of last year. But these gestures have done little if nothing to placate the disgruntled hordes.
So has the former striker, whose goalscoring heroics and cheeky-chappy persona once made him a hero to thousands, irrevocably tarnished his reputation during his spell in the dugout at Rangers? Will he ever again be held in high regard by his once-adoring followers? Or will he in time be remembered for the service he gave his club during their time of need?
John Greig was drummed out of Rangers after a spell in the dugout which was difficult for different reasons back in the 1980s. He was eventually accepted back in time and performed a variety of different roles for a number of years. He was voted The Greatest Ever Ranger in 1999 and was named Honorary Life President in March this year.
It is difficult to see if McCoist could, or would want to, return to Rangers in any capacity. But the warmth of the reception which he received as he turned up to vote – not, you would presume, to keep in the two remaining directors – at the egm at Ibrox in March highlighted the feeling towards him in the real world is nowhere near as vitriolic as it is in cyberspace or on radio phone-ins.
There is no question the football played by Rangers in their three competitive fixtures so far this season under Mark Warburton has been a distinct improvement on much of what came before. At times, it has been a joy to watch.
But the Englishman has not been forced to work in the circumstances which his predecessor was. He has had the luxury of the full backing of a professional board and his side has not been playing amid a backdrop of unrest in the stands.
McCoist was far from perfect as a coach. His failings ultimately contributed towards his undoing. But his reign was certainly not as catastrophic as some have suggested. It had its moments. And he only asked for recognition that he tried his best.
His sighting at Glasgow Airport last week with Sevim Cesim, the French businesswoman who worked briefly at Ibrox around the time of the public share offering, and who has been questioned by police regarding alleged irregularities at the club around that time, was intriguing.
He may simply have been bidding bon voyage to a friend and former colleague. But it suggested he has always had and continues to have, for all his flaws, the best interests of Rangers at heart.
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