Rangers legend Ally McCoist has firmly ruled out the prospect of returning to football management, insisting his coaching days are well and truly behind him.
The Ibrox icon, who guided his boyhood club through one of the most challenging chapters in its history, was speaking on talkSPORT when a Rangers supporter called in to ask if he could ever be tempted back into the dugout.
In typically candid fashion, McCoist reflected on his pathway into management — and the influential role the late, great Walter Smith played in encouraging him to take his coaching badges.
“I’ll be honest with you. I’ve still got all my badges and all that stuff and it was the best I ever did,” McCoist said. “It was Walter that told myself, [Ian] Durrant, and the boys to do our badges. We did them all, we did UEFA pro, all the qualifications are there mate. But I’ll be brutally honest – I think the ship’s sailed.”
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McCoist was appointed Rangers manager during the summer of 2011, stepping up after the legendary Smith’s second spell in charge. However, after handing in his notice in December 2014, McCoist went on gardening leave and hasn’t managed in senior football since.
His time as head coach was marked by the club’s financial turmoil and eventual liquidation, but McCoist continues to look back on that difficult period with pride.
He continued: “I managed my club, albeit at probably the roughest time in the club’s history, but I wouldn’t have swapped it for the world mate and after you manage at the club you love and play for so many years, I’m not sure there’s anything else that would really float my boat."
In a light-hearted moment, McCoist joked about his on-air partnership with fellow talkSPORT host Alan Brazil — suggesting that his future firmly lies behind the microphone rather than in the technical area.
“Plus, I’ve got to be honest with you. I think big Al would go to pieces if I left him. I think he would crumble. You would see a deterioration in big Al if I left him," he chuckled.
While McCoist’s coaching qualifications remain intact, the former striker left little doubt that his days of touchline team talks are over — but his legacy at Rangers, both as a player and a manager, continues to resonate with supporters to this day.
