Ally McCoist: ‘Difficult’ for Rangers to win three trophies, they have been ‘poor’ in cups
Rangers have the squad to compete but it is going to be difficult to win on three fronts, and they have been “poor” in domestic cups says Ally McCoist.
Gers are chasing Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership, lead 3-0 after the first leg of the Europa League last-16, and face Dundee in the Scottish Cup quarterfinal this weekend, but their domestic form of late has been patchy and they haven’t won a major cup for over a decade.
Ibrox legend McCoist believes they have the personnel to succeed on all fronts but does not appear confident that they will manage it.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, the Gers hero said: “They have got a good squad, they’ve got a far better squad then they’ve had in a good number of years now, it certainly looks stronger.
“If you’re challenging on two or three fronts you need more than 11 players, that’s for sure, you need a squad of 15, 16, 17 players.
“I think Rangers have got that, but it’s going to be difficult.
“The Old Firm games coming up, they are mouthwatering. They will clearly go a long way to deciding where the title goes.
“The one thing I would say about Rangers that they certainly need to improve on… there’s a question mark against them in the domestic cup trophies, it’s been poor.”
No let up
It is the business end of the season and a team the size of Rangers should expect to still be in the running to multiple trophies.
So their current position should be a positive rather than a negative.
It will undoubtedly be a drain on the players to have to perform in high-stakes situations game after game, but they’d surely rather that than the pressure be off by now.
They have proven over the previous three European ties that they can rise to the big occasions, defeating Borussia Dortmund over two legs, and overcoming Red Star Belgrade 3-0 at Ibrox last night (Thursday 10 March).
It is the supposed lesser fixtures in the league that a proving to be their Achilles heel currently.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has struggled to manage his squad adequately since the winter break, although he has shown recent signs of improvement.
It will be vital for him to master that quality fast if Gers are going to defend their SPFL title and end a domestic cup drought running back to 2011.
In other Rangers news, Tam McManus “couldn’t believe” one of the referee’s decisions in the Europa League.