McCoist To See Out Notice

Photo by Jeff Holmes Rangers boss Ally McCoist says he plans to see out the full 12 months of his notice period. The Ibrox club announced on Monday that McCoist had decided to quit after three-and-a-half years in charge. Press Association Sport understands the board want McCoist to go now but showdown talks on Wednesday with new chief executive Derek Llambias - whose appointment was confirmed on Friday - broke down without a settlement. The manager refused to divulge details about those talks at his weekly pre-match press conference or reveal the reasons behind his decision to walk. But when asked if he planned to see out the full 12-month notice period set down in his one-year rolling contract, he did say: "Yes. Absolutely. "I don't know if it's realistic or not but I expect it to happen because it is in the boundaries of the contract, which I look to honour."

News of McCoist's resignation emerged just hours before the League One champions were due to take on Queen of the South last Friday night. The club's record scorer, who famously said he did not do walking away after the club's liquidation crisis, batted off questions about why he had chosen to resign following the shock 2-0 defeat at Palmerston. A week later and he was still in no mood to disclose why he was choosing to bring his reign to an end. "I would keep that private," he said. "I wouldn't comment at all about why I have made that decision but now that I have, I can assure the Rangers supporters - who are the most important people - that I am 100 per cent focused on continuing the job. "The most important thing is to say that it is business as usual. That is exactly how it has been. "Our last game was not good enough so we are concentrating all our efforts on tomorrow against Livingston. "Have I been considering this for long? Not really. "It was a very difficult decision but once I had made it, there was no turning back. "And I can assure everybody I am 100 per cent committed and focused (on the job) for the remainder of my contract. "The Rangers fans would expect nothing less than that." A statement released to the Stock Exchange on Monday confirming his impending departure also revealed that under the terms of McCoist's contract, his salary would almost double to £750,000. That was seen by many fans as an attempt to heap pressure on the manager at a time when the business needs £8.3million before April 1 just to keep the lights on. McCoist, though, insisted he was "not surprised" that the board had chosen to announce those details. He also tried to play down reports claiming he had fallen out with former Rangers strike partner Mark Hateley. Headlines this week had suggested McCoist was angry over the Englishman's closeness to James and Sandy Easdale - who are respectively a Rangers PLC director and football board chairman. McCoist said: "Mark and I go back a long way. We've been through a lot together. I've not had the chance to speak to him but we definitely will have a chat - there's no problem about that. "We are big boys, we will sit down and have a chat." The former Scotland striker had been in charge for only a year before Craig Whyte's chaotic reign as owner brought the Glasgow giants to their knees. The 52-year-old insists he would be sad to say goodbye to Rangers once the end finally comes. He said: "Would I miss the job? That's a good question? I would think you would have to miss the job. I don't think there is any doubt about it. "It's been a massive, massive part of my life so you would definitely miss it. Have I enjoyed it? At times, yes."