Kris Boyd last night hit back at John Brown after the Rangers legend labelled him, and the club's other most experienced players, a 'disgrace'.
The former Dundee manager singled out seasoned internationalists Boyd, Kenny Miller and Lee McCulloch for special criticism in the wake of the Ibrox club's 2-0 defeat by Hearts in the SPFL Championship, but the 31-year-old, who came off the bench to score his ninth goal of the season in the 3-0 Scottish Cup win against Kilmarnock, took him to task yesterday.
Ahead of tonight's Petrofac Cup semi-final against Alloa Athletic at the Indodrill Stadium, Boyd insisted that no-one is working harder to resurrect the club's fortunes than they are. "I found it pretty strange that it came from someone I speak to whenever I see him," said Boyd. "I've got a good relationship with Bomber. In fact, he phoned me up a few months ago when he was still in a job to see if I fancied signing for Dundee. It's not bad for being a disgrace.
"Lee McCulloch is in here at 8am every morning; there's no one who works harder than him," the striker added. "You don't have the career Kenny Miller has had if you're a disgrace and you don't work.
"This time two years ago everybody said I was finished and that I was just coming back here to mess about. But I came back and scored 22 goals for a team [Kilmarnock] which was nearly relegated. That's not bad for somebody who's a disgrace. Maybe Bomber is just trying to get a reaction from us but I can assure you that he doesn't need to say those things to get a reaction from the three of us.
"We'll turn up and do our work and try our best. We might have been through some tough spells but I think Bomber is just trying to make himself heard again. It doesn't bother me; it goes in one ear and out the other. It's not the first time it's happened and it won't be the last either. That's what happens when you come to a club like this."
Tonight's match comes at a time of extreme financial uncertainty, with the incoming non-executive director Derek Llambias in the midst of a redundancy programme at the club and the January transfer window approaching fast. McCoist has urged Llambias to ring fence his current squad levels for the title push but knows there will be no guarantees and the ultimate decision may not be his.
"That would be my wish: that I could keep as strong a squad as possible," said McCoist. "That's what I would like to happen but I am fully aware of circumstances. When we are losing staff and where we are at the moment, things may alter. I can appreciate that more than anybody. We will just have to wait and see. Very few managers make financial decisions at clubs. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if any decision was made by someone else, but I would be consulted. I respect everything that's going on at the football club right now."
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