ALLY McCOIST has revealed it was the club's directors rather than he who elected not to postpone Rangers' SPFL Championship home match against Alloa Athletic next Saturday.
It was widely expected the Rangers manager would follow precedent by calling off the fixture once three of his players - Lewis Macleod, Arnold Peralta and Bilel Mohsni - had all been called up for international duty, having done so four times over the past year.
McCoist had said last Monday that he did not expect any input from the boardroom on whether to play the game or not, but circumstances evidently changed during the week, with chairman David Somers and other directors now insisting that the match goes ahead as scheduled.
McCoist, who was not consulted before the decision was made, would not be drawn on whether he would have postponed the game had it been his choice - "that's hypothetical now" - but hoped the remaining players at his disposal would still be able to beat the side currently sitting second bottom of the division.
"It was a board decision [to play the game], to be honest," he said. "I spoke to the chairman and the board have decided that they want the game to go ahead. And that's fine and it's something I respect so we will just need to get on with that. I think they were keen [to do so] for the supporters on a Saturday as well, so I think that would play a part in it.
"Was I privy to the decision? No, not at all. The chairman was good enough to phone me to tell me they had taken the decision that the game was going to be played and that's it, so great. I hope [we can cope without these players]. We feel no matter what team we put out, with the squad we have, we are certainly capable of giving them a game and hopefully taking the three points. We have massive games coming up in the league in particular."
It is how they fare in their forthcoming cup ties, however, against Kilmarnock and Celtic, that will help gauge their readiness for a return to the top division. Having defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone to reach the League Cup semi-final, beating two more SPFL Premiership sides would suggest Rangers were in a good place to compete for the title next year. McCoist, though, was quick to dismiss that line of thought.
"No matter if we win the two games and beat Kilmarnock and Celtic, there's no way in my opinion we are ready to win the top flight," added McCoist. "We need new players to compete right at the top. I run the risk of repeating myself again, but the boys we have brought in are free transfers. The lads that left us ... we paid £2.5m for [Steven] Naismith, we paid £2.5m for [Steven] Whittaker, we paid millions of pounds for [Steven] Davis and we brought in free transfers. So I don't think it's rocket science to work it out. I firmly believe we have got a long, long way to go before we are anywhere near competing for the top-flight title."
Beating Celtic at Hampden on February 1 would probably weaken McCoist's plea for additional funds next summer but he was keen to point out the difference between a one-off victory and a sustained challenge to Celtic's superiority.
"Inverness beat Celtic and how many people now think they will win the league? And the same with Hamilton. They're going great but I don't think they will win the league. In a one-off game there are a lot of teams capable of giving Celtic a game. But over a Grand National course I don't think there's any that would give them a run for their money."
The possibility of strengthening his squad in January, to ensure Rangers win promotion, remains unclear. "I don't know, I'll have to wait and see. That's not been spoken about. I'm the same as every other manager and coach - we'd all love to strengthen our squads if we could.
"I've been in dialogue with the chairman but football matters like that haven't been discussed yet. I haven't [spoken to Mike Ashley]. I've no real need to. I make myself available at all times to shareholders and board members. If anyone wants to speak to me that's no problem at all."
Of most immediate concern to McCoist is today's visit of Falkirk as Rangers look for an eighth victory in succession. "We're on a good roll at the moment. We've won our last seven games and are certainly enjoying playing. I think we have a wee bit about us where we are enjoying the games and there is an awareness of how important it is to continue the run we are on. Earlier in the season I felt we were losing goals that were uncharacteristic of us. But we seem to be defending better now."
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