ANY outsiders wondering who is to blame whenever a team runs into a period of turbulence can be forgiven for feeling somewhat baffled by the disparate array of opinions usually offered up.

Managers usually spare their players and shoulder the responsibility themselves. Players, in turn, selflessly insist it is they should be criticised, not their boss. Former players and managers are harder to predict, but more often than not will side with the individual rather than the collective.

So it is with Ally McCoist. The pressure has intensified on the Rangers manager heading into Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup tie with Kilmarnock, his team having fallen nine points behind Hearts at the top of the SPFL Championship. McCoist admitted to have undergone a period of introspection in the subsequent six days since that loss at Tynecastle, looking into every facet of the team's performance, including the sending off of Stevie Smith, without being unduly critical of the player or his team-mates. If the easy option was to throw them under the bus then McCoist chose not to seize upon it.

That attitude was in stark contrast to the stance taken by John Brown. The former Rangers defender spared his one-time Ibrox team-mate from any criticism, instead offering the view that McCoist's senior players like Lee McCulloch, Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd were "a disgrace" and needed to drastically improve. It was quite a scathing attack but McCoist chose not to entertain it.

"It's not just Bomber [Brown] - every man and his dog has had a comment to make this week," he said. "That's just the way it goes.

"I wouldn't comment on any individual's comments. But it's safe to say after a disappointing result last week you look at everything. You look at yourself, you look at the players. You look at the whole lot.

"You look at the game and then you look forward. It's been a week of self-analysis because we made mistakes last week that we don't want to make again. That's been the whole objective of this week, analysing what's going on.

"There are certain things we felt happened changed the course of the game to our detriment. We understand that but we have to make sure it doesn't happen again. But you analyse everything, yes, the coaches as well, and then you regroup and you go again.

"I think we have to into account that stick and flak has flown about this club for 100 years - and I hope it will be here for another 100 years.

"I wouldn't comment on any individual's views from outside the club, but they are well entitled to it. It's not a surprise. We've seen it from various people this week, which is fine. But the most important thing is that the players know how we feel - and we know how they feel, too."

Stuart McCall was another to offer McCoist support, the former Motherwell manager also dismissing the suggestion he would be the leading candidate to step into his friend's shoes should the Rangers mnanager resign or be sacked.

"You can't really say much as a manager because you are seen to be making excuses," he said. "Listen, the buck stops with you because you sign the players and pick the team and tactics. But at the end of the day when the players step on to the pitch you can't make decisions for them. If Stevie Smith didn't make the decision to fly into that tackle there's a good chance that Rangers would be sitting three points behind Hearts rather than nine.

"Having been at the game I saw Rangers were in control of the game until the sending off. So for a really poor decision by a player on the park - which Ally can't influence - suddenly they are on the back foot. So it's not me making excuses for him just because he's a pal. It's a fact and that's the kind of imponderables that managers have to deal with.

"My brothers-in-law are big [Rangers] fans and they said to me, "all his nine in a row mates will come out and back him". But I'd be saying the same thing if Paul Le Guen was in charge - it's still early, and it can certainly be changed around. It's not as if there are 10 games to go, there are 22."