FOOTBALL fans turning on the manager of their own club doesn't always signal the immediate end of that individual's spell in charge.

The game is littered with examples of men who incurred the public wrath of their own supporters when form dipped and results dried up.

Not all of them went on to get the sack. Many rode out the storm, turned the situation around and made successes of their tenures.

Gordon Strachan is a perfect example. He was once targeted for abuse by Celtic supporters during a rocky patch in his time at Parkhead. Strachan recovered and went on to lead the Glasgow club to the Scottish title three times and into the knockout stages of the Champions League twice.

So, the flak Ally McCoist was subjected to by the travelling support at the end of the 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle doesn't necessarily mean his time is up as Rangers boss.

Despite falling nine points adrift in the SPFL Championship as a consequence of the loss in the capital, the Ibrox club could still conceivably win the title and promotion back to the top flight.

They are also actively involved in three cup competitions - the Challenge Cup, the League Cup and the Scottish Cup - and have designs of winning all of them.

There were, too, extenuating circumstances at the weekend. The game was defined by the ordering-off of midfielder Stevie Smith for a challenge on Callum Paterson early in the first half.

Referee Craig Thomson had no hesitation in reaching for his red card - he also brandished nine yellows during a full-blooded encounter - and the home team gained an edge as a result of that decision.

McCoist was disappointed at his charges' lack of discipline throughout the match and Kris Boyd can consider himself lucky not to be sent for an early bath after a late foul on Brad McKay.

However, Rangers greats Davie Weir and Stuart McCall, summarising for broadcasters BT Sport, were both uncertain if Smith's foul merited such a drastic punishment after watching multiple replays of the incident.

Would Rangers have slumped to their third defeat this term if they had managed to keep all 11 of their players on the park for the duration of the game?

We will never know.

But the League One champions had certainly been the better side up until that turning point. Indeed, they dominated the first half despite their opponents' numerical advantage.

And Robbie Neilson, the coach of undefeated Hearts, admitted the final outcome could have been quite different if Smith had remained on the field of play for the full 90 minutes.

Nevertheless, the reverse to Hearts marked a definite turning point in the relationship between McCoist and followers who had hitherto remained fiercely loyal to the legendary striker.

The inability by Rangers to create and take scoring chances and haul themselves back into a match after Jason Holt had given Hearts the lead with a fine finish early in the second half exasperated their fans.

Nicky Law forced a decent save from Neil Alexander and Lewis Macleod then had a follow-up shot deflected on to the woodwork.

But, that aside, they did not trouble their rivals' goal. McCoist's substitutions, not least replacing Macleod with Boyd late on, didn't go down well either and led to the derogatory chanting being aimed in his direction.

He desperately needs to turn around the fortunes of his side and rediscover the form that saw them go on an eight-game winning run in all competitions earlier in the campaign to save his job.

The Scottish Cup match at Ibrox on Sunday against Kilmarnock - a side which has now lost four games on the spin in the Premiership - is of massive importance to the manager.

Lose it and the clamour for his removal will, after a draw at home to part-time Alloa and a loss to Hearts away, intensify further.

Win it and the snipers will, momentarily at least, be silenced.

McCoist, whose positive outlook and upbeat demeanour proved invaluable during the dark days of administration, is certainly confident that he can turn things around and complete "The Journey".

"It's going to be difficult to claw back the gap, but it's not insurmountable," he said. "It's not going to be easy, but we have a firm belief that we can do it. We still believe we can be champions come May."

Yet McCoist's situation is complicated by the fact that a new regime - the umpteenth of his three-and-a-half years at the helm - has taken control at Rangers this month and is implementing changes.

They may want to install their own man, irrespective of results on the park. That was certainly the case after Mike Ashley bought Newcastle United back in 2007. Sam Allardyce soon found himself surplus to requirements.

The manager's annual salary is also the cause of much speculation. Despite him accepting a 50% pay cut earlier this year many, both inside and outside Ibrox, feel his remuneration is too great at a club that continues to experience serious financial difficulties.

There is widespread speculation that the level of compensation that would be required to dispense with the services of McCoist and his backroom team make him bullet-proof given their current off-field problems.

McCoist himself feels that no manager is safe from the sack and believes he will, despite the circumstances he has been forced to work in since succeeding Walter Smith back in 2011 and continues to endure, be targeted if results are not delivered.

Rangers need to get back to winning ways - beginning with the Scottish Cup fourth round game against Kilmarnock - if McCoist is to survive.