It's the board's move says Chris Jack

It's the board's move says Chris Jack

ALLY McCOIST has been quizzed for weeks about how he would vote at Rangers' AGM on Thursday and the answer arrived on Monday when it was revealed he had handed over his shares to the Calderwood Loyal.

In effect, the Gers boss will be backing the four board hopefuls - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson - if the East Kilbride-based supporters club vote with the majority of the Light Blue legions and bid to oust the current hierarchy.

If the board remain in place, it would leave McCoist in an extremely delicate situation at Ibrox and potentially at risk of losing his job.

It would remain to be seen if the board would be happy to employ a boss who doesn't have faith in them to run the club, even although chief executive Graham Wallace insisted in SportTimes on Tuesday that McCoist's position was safe.

Given the influence Rangers' record goalscorer has with fans, they may not have much choice but to back him, whether they like it or not.

McCoist has been the figure to rally round for supporters throughout Rangers' troubles and, if the board were to bin him in the coming weeks, they would run the risk of further inflaming tensions between themselves and a furious fan base.

Some still question McCoist's ability as a manager but nobody can doubt his love for the club and fans won't forget the role he played in keeping Rangers together during their darkest days.

McCoist has played his cards right by giving his shares to the fans, with the board now left to ponder their hand.

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Ally McCoist's hope is that the annual general meeting of Rangers International Football Club allows for a line to be drawn in the sand.

His spell as Rangers manager has mostly involved periods of turmoil, when form and results were gained in spite of events occurring off the field. A period of unity would be welcomed by the manager, not least because his team has found a level of consistency that has swept every opponent in the league aside.

There are still uncertainties for McCoist, though.

Graham Wallace, the chief executive, has assured him that giving his voting rights to his old supporters club in East Kilbride will not affect his position. Yet some may construe it as essentially voting against the board, since the club is a member of the Rangers Supporters Assembly, which has campaigned against the current directors.

McCoist remains an iconic figure, though, and if all sides are seeking unity then further disruptions to the club would be self-defeating.

There are more pressing issues. McCoist needs to begin planning for next season's likely campaign in the Championship and also put in place the strategy to ensure the team is competitive on it's eventual return to the top flight.

There is no scouting network and the youth development structure needs investment. As a business, Rangers need to streamline, but McCoist will not want the quality of his squad undermined.

There is much work to be done, and the pivotal decisions will be made by the chief executive and the manager together.

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