The only way is up

Sunday 6 January 2013

Ally McCoist greeted the new year with a glass of champagne at home with his family.

The man who at times seemed to be single-handedly holding the club together, Rangers manager Ally McCoist enjoys his team's 3-0 win over Clyde at Ibrox Photograph: SNS

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There would have been a sense of relief, certainly, and recognition that the worst fears had not come to pass. Rangers are, after all, still in existence, playing football, and able to rely on the loyalty of a vast fan base. Even so, the 11 months between Rangers Football Club plc entering administration and the team now having moved clear at the top of the Irn-Bru Third Division were difficult for McCoist, who for a time seemed to be holding the club together.

The setting for his Hogmanay celebrations was fitting, since McCoist found refuge from Rangers' plight in the needs of his family, particularly his younger children, who were oblivious to the turmoil with which he was contending. "Their insanity kept me sane," he smiled. The demands of being a father brought perspective, but also a sense of calm, since McCoist could leave his work concerns behind for a time. There is a similar clarity looking back now, because Rangers survived, and his concerns are about rebuilding a team to eventually compete again in the top flight."When you go through the door, the [children] are not interested in the administrators and all that stuff, they just want a fight – and they got one," he joked. "But in terms of the work, it's been tough, but we are in many ways where we wanted to be during all the darkness. Let's not kid ourselves on, we weren't looking to win the SPL five or six months ago, we weren't looking to qualify for Europe, we just wanted the team to play every Saturday. We wanted the stability and the nucleus of the club and the people within the club to stay, and we got that. So out of all that terrible time, to be where we are at the moment, we could not have wished for anything else."Rangers were last night 17 points clear at the top of the Third Division and could, in theory, win the title by the end of March. That achievement must seem mundane to McCoist, an integral part of Rangers' nine-in-row-winning side, but it would be his first trophy as a manager.This is only his second season in charge, after succeeding his friend and mentor Walter Smith, but judging McCoist's ability is difficult when he has had to veer from crisis management to rebuilding a team that had only a handful of players – most of them young and inexperienced – at the beginning of last summer's pre-season training.The expectations at Ibrox are for constant success, and Rangers can only win the competitions in which they are taking part. Even so, McCoist admitted he is effectively in a no-win situation, since it is assumed Rangers will move back up the divisions to the SPL with little difficulty because of the club's size and resources. Failing to pull off that feat would, though, be likely to cost McCoist his job."It is strange because I don't think I will get judged until – hopefully – we are back in the top flight," McCoist said. "I am not sure people will judge success as winning the league, winning the next league and winning the next one after that. In a lot of people's eyes that should be guaranteed. So unless we do that I will only be judged as a failure, which is fine because that is where we are. The whole situation is bizarre. Football managers should get judged on results, but I am not sure winning the league will be - well, it certainly won't be a fantastic success in many people's eyes so it is a strange situation. If I don't win the league, I'll be out the door."A lot of people probably won't realise the damage that has been caused, which will take us years and years to recover from. The club has lost a team and a half that was more than capable of competing in the SPL, possibly winning the SPL."It is the support that has kept us going. The heart has kept beating but as with any wounded animal, it will take us a while to recover. It is anything but an overnight fix. In the team against Annan, we had 10 boys who had come through from Murray Park. We are not kidding ourselves that particular team would win the SPL. We all know it wouldn't. But we have to build a team that will be capable of winning it."Asked to rate his team's progress so far, McCoist separates the league form – which has improved – from the cup form. He considers the Scottish Communities League Cup victory over Motherwell in September to be the best performance of the season, but Rangers were then knocked out by Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while Queen of the South won on penalties at Ibrox in the Ramsdens Cup. A William Hill Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice awaits next month, although Rangers have not accepted their allocation of tickets in support of a fan boycott against Dundee United. In truth, though, all that matters to Rangers this season is moving on from the Third Division, and all that went before in 2012.

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