Ally McCoist last night refused to say whether he could have a working relationship with Charles Green at Rangers but insisted he did not feel isolated by Walter Smith's departure as chairman.

Green returned to Ibrox in his new role as a club consultant last night and took a seat in the directors' box for the friendly with Newcastle United, which finished 1-1.

Some anti-Green chants went up from one section of the ground in the second half, there was support for McCoist and around 100 supporters staged a sit-in for around 25 minutes after full-time. But most of the crowd of around 18,000 kept its counsel about Green, the manager, and the prospect of a hostile takeover bid by minority shareholder Jim McColl.

McCoist refused to be drawn when asked if he could work with Green, whom he had called an embarrassment and devious at the weekend after Green had said he would have to win SPFL League One and a cup this term. Green repeated that assertion in a series of interviews yesterday, but at no point before last night's game did McCoist and Green talk.

When asked if the resignation of his friend and ally Smith left him isolated at the club, McCoist said: "I don't really think so, to be honest with you. I don't think there is an awful lot more Walter could have done. He obviously has his own reasons for his departure. One thing I do, and I'm sure you will too, is totally respect that. He's made his decision and he will have his own reasons for that, and once again it will have been done with the club's best interests at heart. I am very disappointed [that he's gone]. Very disappointed indeed."

Green has angered McCoist by repeatedly claiming that last season's Rangers team was the worst in the club's history. In an STV interview broadcast barely at tea-time last night Green alleged that it was Smith himself who had come to that conclusion. McCoist refused to comment on that, but he did praise chief executive Craig Mather, with whom he sat in the directors' box for the first half last night.

"I'm in regular discussions with Craig, normally on a daily basis and normally a good few times each day. We speak regularly, we meet regularly, and I've been speaking to him as you would expect. As I've said all along, the chief executive and the manager is arguably the biggest working relationship in the club and it's safe to say and see that we are absolutely getting on fine."

Lee McCulloch gave Rangers an early lead with a penalty before Newcastle equalised in stoppage time through Shola Ameobi. Seven of McCoist's eight summer signings came into the team beaten by Forfar Athletic on Saturday.

"A lot of people maybe thought playing top-class opposition would be too much for us. But we always felt we had the players that can compete at a higher level. We kept the ball well and the workrate was excellent. Our passing was good and we created chances against one of the best teams we will play this year," said McCoist.