‘We just need to pile up the points’

Ally McCoist yesterday added his voice to those players who had claimed Rangers wanted as many Clydesdale Bank Premier League points on the board as possible, just in case the club plunges into administration and are stripped of at least 10. Right now the defending champions could absorb the usual 10-point SPL penalty for insolvency and still be ahead of second-placed Motherwell and third-placed Celtic. They could be 15 points clear of Celtic by tea-time if they beat Dundee United at Ibrox this afternoon. The picture has an unreal feel, though, because administration could haul them right back into the pack.

“You don’t know what’s around the corner, we just need to pile up the points,” said McCoist, the manager. “That’s all we can do. Everything else we have no control over. All we can do is keeping winning games and if we do that it will put us in a good position. We don’t speak about what is happening [off the field]. We speak about the opposition and we speak about teams.”

If these were normal times for Rangers, they would react to the long-term loss of the injured Steven Naismith by bringing someone in during the January transfer window, perhaps an established name as a loan signing to see them through until the end of the season. McCoist does not know if that will be possible. In fact, he doesn’t have much of a clue about whether he will be able to do anything in January given the uncertainty over the tax dispute with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs which could mean a crippling liability of up to £49m if it goes against them. McCoist said he had still to discuss the forthcoming transfer window with the club’s owner, Craig Whyte.

“I haven’t had a good chat with Craig about January. I don’t have any doubt we will be speaking and we’ll go over one or two things. In an ideal world, we’d like to replace Steven in January but we’re not in an ideal world at the moment. Time will tell on that. If you lose your top scorer, you would like to replace him.

“He’s arguably one of the players of the season up until now. Who wouldn’t miss him? But there is no use in us getting down about it. We’ve shown when he was suspended that we can win games without him and we’re going to have to win games without him now.”

Naismith will be out for the rest of the season after injuring a knee at Pittodrie last weekend. The Scotland man has been one of the three-man axis which has made Rangers tick this season along with Steven Davis and Nikica Jelavic. Their central defensive team-mate, Dorin Goian, took it one step further, claiming: “I think Steven Naismith and Steven Davis are the heart of this team.”

The Romanian’s opinion was interesting given that he is new to the club and has assessed everyone with a fresh eye. “They are very important players for Rangers and when they are on the pitch it is much easier, but Naisy will not be with us for the rest of the season.”

At least McCoist was able to report some positive team news yesterday, with Kyle Bartley back in contention to play for the first time since August 13. The 20-year-old has made only one appearance since rejoining Rangers on a second loan from Arsenal but yesterday McCoist was purring about the fact he is available again to play in central defence, central midfield, or even at right-back.

“It strengthens us. I said that within our squad I feel it’s quite important that we have players who can play in more than one position and I think we have that: Kyle Bartley, Sasa Papac, Steven Whittaker. Bartley is really, really pleasing because he is a big, strong, physical player for us.” Lee McCulloch is absent because of a calf problem.

McCoist revealed that Allan McGregor had been teased mercilessly in training all week for the mistake he made at Pittodrie, allowing Richard Foster’s long shot to pass through his hands. After errors for Scotland against Denmark, against Celtic and now Aberdeen, he has been unusually culpable recently. “He’s allowed three,” said McCoist, laughing.

Had McGregor been ridiculed by his team-mates? “Yes. I’ve seen to it. He knows he made a mistake. It doesn’t shake my faith in him. I know what Allan has given us for years and I know what he will continue to give us. While we had a laugh about it, the one thing about him is that he takes great pride in his work. Dorin thought the two Stevens are the heartbeat of the team but I would include Allan in that, as well.”

Dundee United were the last team to beat Rangers in the SPL, back in April, although they are weaker now. “You get nothing other than a tough game against them,” said McCoist. Still, Rangers are right to be confident about moving an incredible 15 points clear of Celtic before going into the international break.

n Around 300 armed forces personnel and Erskine veterans will be guests of Rangers and the Rangers Charity Foundation at Ibrox today in honour of Remembrance Day.

interview Rangers preparing for a harsh winter on and off the park, reports Michael Grant