Ally McCoist hits out at 'weak' Rangers team following Philippe Clement's sacking

Ally McCoist has hit out at the Rangers squad following a run of poor results, ultimately leading to Philippe Clement losing his job.

The manager was sacked 24 hours after the 2-0 home defeat to St Mirren at the weekend and the hunt for his replacement is now under way.

McCoist, the club’s record goal scorer, has called the current squad “weak” and said recruitment has been “shocking” as his former side falls further behind city rivals Celtic.

Speaking to Jeff Stelling on TalkSport he said: “They are miles behind Celtic just now. It’s a good job if you are backed but the recruitment has been shocking; it really has.

“You look across the city, the one thing you have to do as Rangers manager is beat Celtic, and as Celtic manager you have to beat Rangers, it’s relatively simple and that’s where it is.

“To be a success, you have to win the league, and you have to beat the other team. Rangers, sadly, even including the comfortable 3-0 victory over Celtic a few weeks back, they are a good way behind Celtic on and off the park.

“I know Celtic were defeated at the weekend, but they put in a really good performance in midweek against Munich and deserved to take that to extra time.

“The gulf between the clubs at this moment in time is massive. So anyone going into Ibrox is going to have to take the full place by the scruff of the neck and give it a right good shake.

“They will also need to be backed by the new owners, who will hopefully financially back the new manager.

“The money they have spent on players like Cortes and people like that, you’re talking millions of pounds that have been thrown away.

“I know the boy got injured and it’s not down to him, but the players who have been brought in are not at a good enough standard.

“What the fans are struggling to accept, and I am very much with them, is there looks like there is a lack of fight and a lack of desire.

“The Rangers team on the pitch is weak, and I don’t take any pleasure in saying it all, but I wouldn’t mind playing against them to be honest. It is a team that you’d love to play against.

“There is a weakness about the club on the pitch, and sadly off the pitch just now as well.”

While McCoist accepts that Clement has to take his share of the blame for the position Rangers are in, out of both cups and a distant second in the Premiership, he doesn’t believe the manager had the right backing.

The former forward and manager even goes as far as to say he believes they would have won the league last season if they had signed Lawrence Shankland from Hearts in January.

He continued: “You take that job, you can complain about recruitment, you can complain about this, that or the next thing, but the buck stops at you and you will get the sack, and that is what happened.

“Of course, he [Clement] has to shoulder responsibility. I don’t think it is all down to him, by any stretch of the imagination.

“I actually think if they had gone last year and got Lawrence Shankland, I think they might have won the league, I genuinely do. If they had gone and given Hearts whatever they wanted, Shankland might have scored the goals that won Rangers the league.

“It wasn’t to be, Celtic deservedly came back and won the league.”