ALLY McCOIST, the Rangers manager, last night remarked that his club would host "a proper Sell-Out Saturday" when they take on East Stirlingshire at Ibrox this afternoon.
More than 40,000 are expected for Rangers' first home match in the Irn-Bru third division, with McCoist speculating it could be the second-best attended match in Britain behind Arsenal's Barclays Premier League opener against Sunderland.
A campaign by supporters to make last weekend's Scottish Premier League card a complete sell-out fell considerably short of that target, with McCoist wondering aloud yesterday whether the attendance at Ibrox might also be higher than the combined total of today's five SPL fixtures. Rangers have now sold around 32,000 season tickets – 7000 alone this week – and today's attendance is almost certain to be the highest ever for a match in the fourth tier anywhere in the world.
He said: "A lot of the talk in the media last week was about Sell-out Saturday – I'm hopeful we can give you a proper Sell-out Saturday on this occasion. I know I keep going on about them, but our fans have been fantastic.
"For us to get a crowd well over 40,000 – and heading towards a sell-out – gives an indication of the support for the team and the club. It's been monumental. We could even have the second biggest crowd in Britain. Newcastle United [versus Tottenham Hotspur] might be bigger, but I think Arsenal is the only one that will definitely be bigger. I might be stirring it up a bit, but we'll probably have a bigger crowd than the combined attendances in the SPL on the same day."
McCoist also revealed he will fight the charge against him for demanding to know the identities of a SFA judicary panel back in April. He and owner Charles Green have both been charged with bringing the game into direspute and a hearing will now take place on August 30.
"At that particular time, there was nobody really standing up for the club at all," McCoist added. "I just felt, in the position I was in, that I didn't have any other option than to speak out for the club. I stand by it to be honest."
McCoist will continue to run the rule over four trialists, with Anestis Argyriou, Sebastien Faure, Francesco Stella and Francesco Celeste all hoping to land a deal.
Interview. Pages 6, 7
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