By Stewart Weir
Weddings are all about something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. There was one taking place at Ibrox earlier today as the press assembled to ask questions of a man who could himself easily tick off three of those four "somethings".
Ally McCoist is an old favourite at Rangers, and their new manager. No colour other than blue could be used to describe him.
Borrowed, however – especially if it came to time – is something McCoist will be keen to avoid as he sets out on the latest chapter of his Ibrox career.
On a day described by one hack to Coisty as "the eve of your era," the legend just wanted the waiting to be over, even if the reality is that he’s not had to wait that long given the new season is kicking-off part-way through most folks’ summer holidays.
“Not too many people have had the opportunity to manage this great club, and this is a wonderful opportunity,” said the former twice European Golden Boot winner, his inauguration almost complete. Just a serious game needed to complete the crowning – and tomorrow lunchtime sees Rangers open their SPL campaign at home to Hearts.
Time – borrowed or not – will tell whether McCoist is up to the job of replacing arguably the club’s greatest manager, Walter Smith.
And McCoist is grateful Smith has left him something worth inheriting, namely a team that has won the last three SPL titles.
“I’d say that is an advantage. You’re guaranteed the boys have been over the course, over the distance, and our lads have done that – so the pressure is on me.
“And I’m following the hardest act of all,” continued the former Scotland hitman, who admitted a young McCoist would have been “flabbergasted” at where the club’s record goalscorer now finds himself.
“At 29 or 30, I never thought about it [management]. But by the end of my career I’d started doing my coaching badges, one of my better decisions. Will I make it as a no.1? Time will tell. But I’ll be as committed as I’ve always been.
“He [Smith] won three titles and got to a European final. If you offered me that right now I’d take it.
“There is a bigger weight of responsibility as is your awareness of the job. But it’s still the second-best job. Wearing the no.9 shirt and scoring goals for Rangers takes a bit of beating.”
What is evident is that McCoist’s single most driving influence is still as sharp, still as acute and still at the forefront of his thoughts today as it was two decades ago.
“Results are always the most important thing. The biggest emotion? I want to win, as it’s always been.
“You win trophies, have a few weeks away, dust yourself down, and get ready to go and win them again. That’s the way it is at this club” – this is the exact same philosophy McCoist that related to me, sitting pool-side in Tuscany in 1993, when he for one didn’t know whether or not his "Super" days were behind him as he battled back from a broken leg collected on international duty in Lisbon.
That positivity will please the Ibrox loyal, a hoard who haven’t always been as loyal as they would make out.
McCoist first arrived at Rangers when John Greig was the manager, since voted the "greatest-ever Ranger" – but one who was ousted when the support stopped supporting.
McCoist also saw them disappear on Walter Smith – who matched Celtic’s achievement of nine-in-a-row – when he failed to deliver silverware in his final game.
So how will Ally handle the pressures of the post and the fickleness of the fans?
Probably as easily as he handled the picture board on A Question of Sport – even if he did cheat on occasion.
He is a winner. For the majority of the time, it’s all he has known in his 15 years as a player and four-and-a-half as assistant manager at Rangers.
McCoist may have come across as the cheeky chappie, the wit, the joker and the jester throughout his career. He might be a bit more serious these days, but there is no mistaking the twinkling eyes and the engaging smile. What they mask, however, is a born winner.
On one pre-season tour, McCoist took "affirmative action" against a team-mate, not because he’d wound the striker up by stealing the hat he was wearing on a night out.
It was more because McCoist had had enough of the junior squad member sandbagging during the week, treating the trip more as a holiday than as a grafting session, the kind needed to prepare for a long-term campaign.
McCoist now finds himself in a position where the first month of competition could shape his tenure.
Malmö await in just a few days, a game crucial to Rangers' European ambitions – and therein their finances – while McCoist continues to shop around for new faces to strengthen his squad, and his hand.
If the jury is out on McCoist the manager, we may not have to wait too long before the first verdict is delivered.
– Tweet Stewart Weir with thoughts and comments, @sweirz
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