ALLY McCOIST is set to embark on the challenge of attempting to lead Rangers back up into the Scottish Premier League within just three years by securing successive promotions through the lower leagues.

It is a feat achieved once and once only. And the man who proved successful in doing so doesn't see any reason why the Ibrox boss can't write himself into the history books by doing the same thing with the Light Blues.

Eight years ago, Rowan Alexander was setting his sights on pulling off what many believed to be Mission Impossible to taking Gretna all the way from the bottom tier of Scottish football to the SPL in the minimum amount of time.

Bankrolled by their wealthy owner Brooks Mileson, the club were in the position of being able to recruit talent from SPL and First Division sides and blitz their way through the divisions in three years from 2004 to 2007.

Although dramatic cost- cutting measures are likely to be put into place at Ibrox, McCoist should still be in a position to build a team more than capable of seeing off the part-time sides they will go head-to-head with this term.

But can he lead Rangers all the way through the divisions without any hiccups? Well, since he already proved it is possible, Alexander doesn't see any reason why the Light Blues can't do the same.

"Is it achievable? Well, we managed it with Gretna so of course it is," said Alexander.

"I don't think anyone could guarantee it will happen, but there is every chance Rangers could go from the Third Division to the SPL in the space of just three years.

"I'm obviously extremely proud of what we achieved at Gretna and the way we managed to work our way through the divisions. It was exciting to be a part of that and it was a great journey."

The former Raydale Park boss added: "You didn't expect it to become something Rangers would find themselves facing, but that is where they are now and I'm sure Ally will be desperately hoping to emulate what we achieved by going straight through the leagues.

"Rangers will always have a terrific fan base and that provides them with an excellent platform to build from.

"We had a five-year plan. It took us a couple of years to build the club up to the stage where we were ready to go for promotion and obviously the money Brooks invested in the club was pivotal in making it all possible.

"If you can afford the best players, then you will always have a great chance."

Although the pending transfer embargo could prevent McCoist from signing as many players as he would like – there is a suggestion it will kick in at the start of September to allow him to bolster his depleted squad – Alexander says improving the team each year is crucial.

"An important factor is being able to hit the ground running every season and not have to build a new team every summer," said Alexander.

"Rather than wait until the summer before trying to sign new players, we brought our targets in during the January transfer window and there were plenty of benefits in doing that."

Alexander added: "Firstly, we always found having a few new players in for the second half of the season galvanised the other players already there and it certainly gave us a big boost during the second-half of the campaign as we were all pushing for promotion.

"Secondly, it allowed the players to settle in so that when it came to starting off the next season they'd already been with us for half the season and the momentum was already there for us to take into the new campaign."

"And we tried to do that each year, bringing in two or three players in January who would not only make a difference during the run-in, but also the following season when we were operating in a tougher league against better players.

"You obviously find yourself coming up against better teams as you work your way through the divisions, but your own team improves at the same time. We became a better team after every transfer window.

"Not all the players manage to survive and make it to the SPL from the Third Division, but Kenny Deuchar was one who did.

"Ally will probably find himself in a situation where he can bring through more young players and that could prove hugely beneficial.

"It will be interesting to see how Rangers get on over the next few years, but I'd definitely say it was extremely possible they could achieve successive promotions."