Brown: McCoist Will Win Over Fans

Photo by Jeff Holmes

John Brown has seen Ally McCoist win over the raging Rangers support once before - and insists the Ibrox boss can do it again. Brown was Dundee's match-winner on that infamous day in February 1985 when the Light Blues hurled abuse at the then young striker. But the former Dundee boss - who joined McCoist at Ibrox three years later - went on to watch the current Gers manager earn iconic status with his club record haul of 355 goals as they won nine successive Scottish titles together. However, McCoist faces a fresh battle to win over his doubters after Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Hearts left his side nine points adrift in the race for automatic promotion back to the top-flight. Those "Ally, Ally get to f***'' chants first bellowed 30 years ago could be heard ringing round Tynecastle again at the weekend but Brown insists his close friend should not be written off just yet. Former Rangers defender Brown said: "The fans are frustrated by the whole situation at the club. The Easdales and the Ashleys are never going to be accountable. They hide behind the door while Ally is out the front taking the flak. "I scored the winner that day for Dundee when the Copland Road was telling Ally where to go. "But can I tell you something. Ally McCoist that day was the one Rangers player that stood out. He was there to miss the chances. "They had Derek Johnstone, Davie Cooper, Bobby Russell. All big players but no-one mentions their performances. It was all about Ally. "He had the balls to stand up and eventually win the fans over. He has done it once and will do it again. "This is November remember. Prizes don't get given out until the end of the season. There is plenty of time left." Brown has long been a vocal critic of the numerous regimes to have taken control of Ibrox since Rangers were liquidated in 2012 - labelling the situation "disgusting". But he also feels the current Light Blues squad should take a long, hard look at themselves after allowing the Jambos to race clear at the top of the Scottish Championship table. "I feel sorry for Ally because if you look at Greame Souness and Walter Smith, they had David Murray backing them to the hilt," said Brown, who spent 10 years with the club after signing in 1988. "I have got to say the situation Ally finds himself with the board of directors he is working under is disgusting. There's no cohesion or support for the manager. He's not had a fair crack at the job. "To be left in that situation when you are trying to run a football team, there is no doubt it will affect what's on the park. "Ally McCoist was given a task to get the club back into the Premiership and he is still going to achieve that. "But by Christ, if you think the off-field stuff does not have an effect on the team you are wrong. "These directors should be doing more to back their manager right now rather than turning their back on him. It's embarrassing." He added: "But I also have to be very critical of the players right now. I have a lot of time for many of them but for the standard of player there, they are vastly underachieving. "I think it is a disgrace that guys like Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd and Lee McCulloch - international players - and the experience they have got have been putting in the type of performances they have been. It's shocking. "People can criticise Ally all they want but when you look at that standard of player and the money they are earning and the fact they are going on that park and not producing performances or even spirit, then you have to lay the blame at the players. "The manager can pick the team but it is down to the players on the park to go and show a desire to win. But there has been a lack of real passion in that team and you have to look at them for that. The players need to get their fingers out."