ALLY McCOIST has launched a stinging blast at Rangers’ current squad and accused them of being WEAK.
And the Ibrox icon reckons the incoming new manager will have to give the entire place a right good shake once they’re in post.
Philippe Clement‘s turbulent 16-month reign as Rangers manager was brought to an end last night.
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to St Mirren proved the final straw for club chiefs.
The Belgian’s reign had began promisingly, with a League Cup triumph and unexpected title challenge being mounted last season.
But that title push dramatically collapsed towards the end of the season and this campaign has been nothing short of a disaster for the Gers, domestically at least.
Clement’s dismissal comes with Rangers trailing Celtic by 13 points in the Premiership table, with both cup competitions also done for the Light Blues.
Clement, who was handed a new contract in August, oversaw a major rebuild of the Rangers squad last summer.
And Ibrox icon Ally McCoist reckons the player recruitment is a big reason for how things have gone wrong at the club.
In a stinging blast at the current crop of Gers players, McCoist accused them of being WEAK.
Appearing on talkSPORT, McCoist claimed he would LOVE to play against the current Rangers team because of that weakness – and says there’s no fight in the squad.
Assessing what awaits the next Rangers manager, McCoist said: “(Rangers are) miles behind them (Celtic). It’s a good job if you get backed. The recruitment has been shocking. It’s been shocking.
“You look across the city. The one thing you’ve got to do domestically as a Rangers manager is beat Celtic, it’s relatively simple. To be a success, win the league you’ve got to beat the other team.
“Rangers, even including the comfortable 3-0 win over Celtic, a few weeks back are a good way behind Celtic on and off the pitch.
“The gulf between the two clubs is massive.
“Anybody going in there is going to have to take the whole place by the scruff of the neck and give it a right good shake and they’re going to have to get backed by new owners.
“The recruitment, the money they’ve spent, you could name individuals, the money they’ve spent – Cortes, people like that – there’s millions of pounds that have been thrown away.
“The players coming in have not been of a good enough standard and what the fans are finding difficult to accept, and I’m with them 100 per-cent, is a lack of fight, a lack of desire.
“The Rangers football team on the pitch is weak, there you are, I don’t take any pleasure in saying that.
“It’s the kind of team you’d love to play against. There’s a weakness about it on the pitch and a weakness of the pitch as well.”
He later added: “The decline in the club on and off the pitch since they won the league and were beaten in a Europa League Final after beating Leipzig, Dortmund, you name in it – the decline hurts more than anything.
With Clement removed from his post, attention will now turn to the next permanent manager of Rangers.
A decision on the Belgian’s long term successor could have to wait however, with Ibrox supremos locked in talks with potential American investors over a takeover.
We told you last week how 49ers Enterprises, the financial muscle of NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers, were in advanced talks to take control of the club from the current regime.
SunSport revealed last night that Russell Martin, the former Rangers defender, is in the frame.
Steven Gerrard was installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite while Kevin Muscat, who lost out to Clement for the job in late 2023, is among the other names mentioned.
Asked who he would like to see take over at Ibrox, McCoist said: “Dear me. That’s a question.
“The obvious people you’d think about are Steven Gerrard, he’ll come into the equation obviously because of his success.
“It won’t happen now but I would’ve taken a gamble on Frank (Lampard) before he’d gone to Coventry, don’t see that happening.
“Muscat has done well, I think he might have won three leagues in three different countries, could be another option. Another option Derek McInnes would come into the equation, he’s a fine manager at Kilmarnock, knows the league, the players, the club.
“There’s one or two options but I don’t think there’s any glaringly obvious candidates either.”
McCoist, of course, was Rangers manager himself between 2011 and 2014.
He steered the club through its most turbulent spell in history after the Gers were sent to the bottom tier of Scottish football.
But would he fancy a return to the dugout?
TalkSPORT co-host Jeff Stelling asked him if he’d drop his MANY media commitments to return to Ibrox.
Laughing, McCoist said: “Listen, you know me, I’d drop everything for Rangers! You included!”
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