McCoist diplomatic over Green relationship

What has unmistakably irritated McCoist recently is the flurry of headlines swirling around Rangers for just about everything other than his team winning Division Three. Praise for that was always liable to be negligible given the enormous financial advantage they hold over every other club in the bottom tier. But over the past week, media coverage of Rangers has centred on far more newsworthy, negative and self-inflicted stories emanating from the club. Namely: Green admitting he calls commercial director Imran Ahmad, his friend, a "P***", Green again annoying McCoist by repeating his claim that this Rangers team is the worst ever, Green and former owner Craig Whyte exchanging claim and counter-claim over whether they collaborated during the club's takeover, and Green reportedly wanting coaches Ian Durrant and Kenny McDowall off the wage bill. The common denominator: the words and actions of Rangers' own chief executive.

McCoist spoke with diplomacy and no little skill yesterday, at a press conference ahead of tonight's Ibrox friendly against Linfield, and if he was implying any criticism of Green it was detectable only if reporters joined the dots and put their own interpretation on his remarks. "I look around our manager's office and I see Mr Struth, the gaffer [Walter Smith], I look at Graeme Souness, Jock Wallace and Willie Waddell. Davie White and Scot Symon. These men set the standards for our football club. Now those standards are as important, if not more important, than winning games of football. We've always had fantastic and wonderful standards and we've prided ourselves on that. That should hopefully never change.

"But in the last 18 months I don't think there is any doubt those standards have dipped a little bit. We all must get them back up to the standards our supporters and club deserves. The biggest disappointment for me over the last 18 months to two years is that I've not often had an opportunity to talk to you guys [the media] about football. In fact, there was a new record at the press conference last Friday when we didn't talk about the game once. That's the biggest disappointment for me.

"Everyone who is new to the club is learning about the club, and they're learning about it very, very quickly. Whether it's about the standards of what the club means to so many people.

"Everything. It's a phrase which gets used an awful lot, and some people may be sick of it, but this is more than a football club. It's far, far more than a football club. We had some kids in at Murray Park this morning who are really, really unwell. Some are in poor shape. Those kids expect certain standards from our players and staff, to behave like Rangers people by being well-mannered while also having a smile, a laugh and a joke with them.

"Things like that, outwith 90 minutes on a football park, are massive things which maintain the high level of standards and behaviour of the people within the club."

The narrative around Rangers right now is about fresh strain in the relationship between McCoist and Green, which will certainly come to a head if the chief executive was to pursue the removal of Durrant and/or McDowall from the wage bill. At times yesterday McCoist had the sort of exasperated look he carried during the club's dark months of administration, liquidation and takeover last year. When asked if he felt Rangers were in crisis McCoist said no, crisis had been on February 14 last year when the club plunged into administration. Even so, it felt like a throwback to some of those days as he was asked, as he was months ago, about whether he gets on with Green.

"My relationship with Charles is fine. It's a working relationship and we need to take this club forward. I speak to him on a regular basis. I had an hour with him after the game on Sunday and I spoke to him again on Tuesday morning. We'll meet again on Wednesday.

"I know for a fact that Charles wants to take the club forward. Absolutely. I don't have any doubt we'll have healthy disagreements on the way we'll take the club forward. But the most important thing is that the club does move forward. The board will have ideas, Charles will have ideas, I'll have ideas and my staff will have ideas. The most important thing is that we all have the same objective – and we have."

"I'm more determined than ever to be here. I say that because I don't mind a scrap. I quite like a challenge. I like to meet things head-on and get on with it. Some people might think there's only so much I can take but I'm miles away from that point. In fact, I won't reach that point. If and when I leave this football club it will not be for the reason that I couldn't take any more."

After the club's £22.2 million share issue Green promised McCoist £10m to spend on wages and transfer fees. Did the manager still expect to see that money given that Green has been shedding staff in an apparent cost-cutting drive? "I don't see any reason to doubt. I think it [money for transfers] might be [detailed] in the prospectus, plus it has been said in the public domain. I'm really looking forward to using that money in the rebuilding process." And if others doubt that the money will be forthcoming? "That is a question I can't answer. You would have to ask the chief executive."

It was, once again, a press conference without a question about the match it had been arranged to publicise. Linfield have been invited to Ibrox in appreciation of their support when Rangers were in trouble last year. They held a fundraising game in Belfast last May which generated around £100,000. A crowd of 15,000-20,000 is expected for the return fixture tonight, which kick-offs at 7.15pm. The usual post-match press conference is unlikely to be about the football either.