Ally McCoist is a manager working in reverse.

The circumstances are out of his control, which will only make them more galling, but in 12 months he has moved from planning for Champions League qualifying ties and a challenge for the SPL title to trying to build a team for the third division. The job requires an element of resourcefulness at any level, but nobody would expect to face such a drastic turn of events.

The Rangers manager has around 16 players with first-team experience in his squad, but Dorin Goian, Carlos Bocanegra, Maurice Edu and, in all likelihood, Lee Wallace will depart now that the club's place will be in the bottom tier of the Scottish game. All are internationalists and will look to protect their places in their national teams. Charles Green admitted yesterday that "some of the main Scots players will have to look at their future", which would suggest that Neil Alexander and Kirk Broadfoot might also consider a move to the third division as detrimental to their careers.

This is the problem facing McCoist, that he will have to work with a squad that represents the two extremes of a players' working life: young and inexperienced footballers, alongside older men playing out the last of their days in the game. Green also remarked that the manager has "players [in mind]. Should the SFA allow us to bring some players in, we'll have a squad", although if Rangers choose to accept a 12-month registration embargo over the reconvening of the SFA's Appellate tribunal – which would choose between expulsion from the Scottish Cup, suspension of their SFA membership, or expulsion from the game – then there may be some leeway as to when the embargo starts. It could be delayed until September 1, allowing McCoist to sign players this summer, but not be able to operate during the next two transfer windows.

The embargo was first imposed when Rangers had a squad of 40 players, but they have lost 12 first-team footballers since then, many for no compensation since they chose not to have their registrations transferred to the newco holding company that owns Rangers and is run by Green. Wallace was among the few to stay, citing his happiness at the club, the recent birth of his child and the desire for stability in his life, however the third division is a different prospect for a player who still hopes to become a regular in the Scotland squad. When moving from Hearts last summer, he could not have imagined his Rangers career taking in the likes of Annan Athletic's Galabank and Stranraer's Stair Park.

Broadfoot, Alexander and Lee McCulloch are also on SPL wages and the club may want to renegotiate. Rangers could sustain such payments for a small handful of individuals if they sold their usual numbers of season tickets – even at a reduced price – but supporters are distrustful of Green and only 450 have been sold to date, although there was a delay while decisions were made on the club's league place and SFA membership.

Without external investment, Rangers will be operating on a vastly reduced budget, which will further limit McCoist's options in the transfer market. A deal had been agreed with Ian Black, the former Hearts midfielder, should Rangers have been placed in the first division and although he has not ruled out moving to the bottom tier, the agreement would have to be renegotiated. Rangers were also linked with a move for former Hearts and Celtic striker, Craig Beattie, but that too may be scuppered.

If McCoist is to plan for the short and medium-term, he will need to add some experience to his squad, but also seek the best young talent that he can attract to Ibrox. Yet since succeeding Walter Smith as manager last summer, McCoist has never been working to a set budget. The business of bringing players to the club was haphazard under Craig Whyte, and now Green cannot set a wage structure since he does not know how many fans will buy season tickets and appears to have been unable to attract the level of investment that he initially promised supporters.

There is potential in the likes of Chris Hegarty, Ross Perry, Kyle Hutton, Kal Naismith, Andrew Mitchell and Darren Cole, but if the embargo was to stand and Broadfoot and Alexander were to leave then the team would be perilously short of experience. McCulloch, at 34, is likely to stay regardless, although his wage may have to be renegotiated.

Last summer, McCoist was credited with an interest in the likes of Carlos Cuellar and David Goodwillie, but the reality now is more low-key. It is, in a sense, to help the club survive this crisis, but also to rebuild his team.