McCoist Keen To Avoid Celtic

Photo by Jeff Holmes Rangers boss Ally McCoist admits he is desperate to avoid a draw against Celtic after his side scraped into the League Cup semi-finals. Lewis Macleod gave the Light Blues faithful a rare moment of glee after another week of off-field drama when he headed a late winner against St Johnstone to give his side a 1-0 Ibrox win. Rangers had to do it the hard way, however, as they ran out to a tiny 13,000 crowd. Mike Ashley's Ibrox power grab sparked a furious response from the Light Blues faithful. Around 100 members of the Sons of Struth protested outside the Edmiston Drive front door as thousands more stayed away altogether. With his side still struggling for form amid the on-going boardroom saga, McCoist knows now is not the time for Rangers to take on their bitter rivals. Asked who he wanted to be paired with in Saturday's last four draw, the manager said: "When you get to the semis, you can't really pick and choose. "We all know who the favourites will be to pick up the domestic trophies, so in that respect I would take anybody but Celtic. "It doesn't take rocket science to work it out it would maybe - and it doesn't guarantee you - a better chance of reaching the final. "If we did get Celtic it would be a very, very tough game and it would be stating the obvious to say we would be the underdogs. But the underdogs can sometimes win." The match was the first since to be played since chief executive Graham Wallace stepped down following Newcastle owner Ashley's victory. The £2million loan he has forced on the club means he can now put two of his own men onto the board. Former Magpies managing director Derek Llambias and Sports Direct head of brands Barry Leach watched the match from the directors box after they were brought in as consultants. But McCoist admits he is not sure if he will end up reporting to either of Ashley's allies. "I haven't met Derek yet," he said. "I've obviously been preparing totally for the game since Saturday. But I look forward to doing so. "I don't know if I will have to defer to him. I haven't been told anything like that. I don't have any doubt that the time will come when that will be explained. "I don't know who I am to report to at the moment. Yesterday I spoke to the chairman and Sandy Easdale and the way I see it I will have discussions with anybody, be it board members or shareholders, who wants to talk." Rangers had to scrap past Saints but Kris Boyd should have given his side an early lead when he fired straight at Allan Mannus after a clever pass by Macleod put him through. Frazer Wright wasted St Johnstone's best chance just before the break and the Perth side paid the price as Macleod glanced home his winner with four minutes left. But Saints boss Tommy Wright insisted Rangers off-field troubles had not given his side an advantage. "We missed an opportunity to win a game," he said. "A half-empty stadium doesn't really come into it. I thought we played particularly well and created opportunities throughout the game. "We defended pretty well up until Macleod got his goal. I'm disappointed for them because we did create a few opportunities and could have got something out of the game. "Frazer Wright had a header in the first half and Michael O'Halloran and Brian Graham forced good saves from Steve Simonsen in the second half. It is disappointing to be knocked out."