Former Rangers captain Richard Gough admits he is pained and baffled by what has been going on at his old club.

Gough splits his year between Scotland and the USA these days, but one way or another he catches up with all their matches.

When he runs out at Ibrox on Monday afternoon, having signed up for a legends game against Manchester United, the 51-year-old will experience the sights and sounds that were once so familiar for him.

He knows the impressions will be misleading: Rangers, for now at least, are not the club where he was once in his pomp.

Gough's Rangers dominated the Scottish football landscape and he associates Ally McCoist with triumph and success, too.

He felt bruised on his old pal's behalf as McCoist's path to winning the Irn-Bru Third Division title was littered with slips, stumbles and embarrassments.

"The Rangers supporters are always very opinionated," he said.

"They are great supporters, but demand a certain level of performance from the manager and the players.

"Alistair knows that. If he had won the league by 50 points, there would still be some criticism.

"McCoist is a good friend of mine and I think he has done a remarkable job with off-field matters.

"Those have taken up a lot of his time. People have said to me there have been some horrific results but that can happen in football.

"It's a very young team. It's not easy to play. You are only as good as your last pass at Rangers, not your last game. I hope it will be much easier for Alistair next year. I hope he gets to deal with football matters more."

It's not only another squad Rangers need to assemble, but a complete executive management supporters can trust.

"There has to be certain people in place," said Gough, alluding to the reigns of disgraced former owner Craig Whyte and then Charles Green, who resigned under a cloud of suspicion as a club investigation began.

"The one thing that worried me in the first place was that there was no-one who understood the values and traditions when they took over the club. I hope someone comes in who does that.

"I am a personal friend of Dave King I and would like to see him do something.

"He is a smart cookie and someone like that would be great because you would know he is not in it for the fast buck.

"We are not a football club and the team on the other side of the city is not just a football club. We are the fabric of this city."