ALLY McCoist is under more pressure now than at any stage in his three-and-a-half years as Rangers manager.

He was targeted for abuse by his own fans at the end of the 2-0 defeat to SPFL Championship leaders at Hearts on Saturday.

Anti-Ally chants rang out across Tynecastle as the Gers fell nine points adrift in the second-tier table.

So can McCoist salvage the situation? Can he complete "The Journey" and take the Ibrox club back into the top flight? Can he save his job?

In SportTimes today we identify five ways the under-fire Rangers boss can turn things around.

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

Crisis? What crisis? The 2-0 defeat to unbeaten SPFL Championship leaders Hearts was undoubtedly a huge setback for Rangers.

The Ibrox club is now nine points behind in the league table. There is no margin for error.

And the way the Gers side has performed in the draw at home against Alloa and the loss away to Hearts does not fill fans with confidence that their side can claw their way back into the title race.

But before they dropped four points in two games McCoist's men had been on an eight- game winning run in all competitions. They had scored 21 goals in that time and had conceded just once - in an emphatic 6-1 win over Raith Rovers at home.

The backline of Richard Foster, Darren McGregor, Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace had also looked settled and had kept six clean sheets in succession.

In addition, Rangers have beaten two Premiership teams, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone, to reach the semi-final of the League Cup this season. They remain involved in the Challenge Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Walter Smith once famously remarked that as Rangers manager you are always just two games away from a crisis. He was not wrong.

The reaction to the last two results, as bad as they have been, has been hysterical.

Yes, things look ominous in the Championship. But there is a long, long way to go in the 2014/15 campaign. Anything can still happen.

Keeping his nerve, while all around him are losing theirs, would not be the worst thing the Rangers manager could do at this difficult time.

CHANGE THE TEAM

McCoist has been remarkably loyal to his players since they dropped down to the Third Division back in 2012.

If his charges win then they will, even if they have acquited themselves poorly, invariably find themselves in the starting line-up the following week.

His critics would argue that players have been selected even when they deserve to be dropped as a result of that policy.

But can you argue with his stance given what the Gers have achieved? Successive title wins and promotions have been secured.

Now that Rangers are not winning, though, McCoist needs to freshen up his side and banish under-performers to the bench or even the stand.

He did that against Hearts to an extent. Jon Daly started ahead of Kris Boyd, who had been poor in the 1-1 draw with Alloa the week before, in Gorgie. David Templeton was also dropped after a nothing performance against Barry Smith's part-timers.

The manager does not have many options. But Fraser Aird, Nicky Clark and Dean Shiels were all among the substitutes on Saturday at Tynecastle.

Every one of them will have a point to prove given their lack of match action in recent weeks and could energise a side badly needing a spark.

Elsewhere, Marius Zaliuskas, training again after injury, and even Arnold Peralta, who has not been sighted in nearly two months, could be called upon.

Leaving individuals out of the side will let them know in no uncertain terms that they are not attaining the required standards and will encourage them to redouble their efforts.

MOVE MACLEOD TO CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Despite being just 20, Lewis Macleod has been one of Rangers' most consistent players this season.

He has scored eight goals and was called up to the senior Scotland squad for the games against the Republic of Ireland and England.

Considering he doesn't play in his preferred position in central midfield, his success is nothing short of remarkable. So just how well would he do if he was given an extended run in the first team in his favoured slot?

RECALL THE KIDS

A valid criticism that can be levelled at McCoist's side is that they are too old. The Gers manager likes seasoned professionals - and given the unique demands of representing the Ibrox club and the intense pressure there is on his players to win every game, that's understandable.

But the oldest cliche in football, that a good side is a blend of youth and experience, still rings true.

And the combined age of the Gers side that took to the field against Hearts on Saturday was 406. Their average age was 29. Five of the players in the starting line-up were over 30. In stark contrast, Robbie Neilson's side had a combined aged of 333 and an average age of 23.7.

Sure, McCoist has nurtured the career of Macleod and helped Aird break through.

But at times in the 2014/15 campaign his side has been crying out for an injection of youthful enthusiasm either from kick-off or during games.

Bringing back Calum Gallagher and Barrie McKay, two players who have shown they can handle playing in the first team, from loan spells at Cowdenbeath and Raith, would add a much-needed freshness.

STRENGTHEN THE SQUAD IN JANUARY

Nobody knows what Mike Ashley intends to do at Rangers now he has gained control. Will he plough some of his untold millions into the ailing club? Or will he slash costs at an outfit that is hemorhagging money? It remains to be seen.

But the Newcastle United owner is a shrewd businessman and must know that securing a spot in the SPFL Premiership will ease the Ibrox club's financial woes enormously.

Speculating to accumulate and bringing in players in the January transfer window may not, then, be the worst move for Ashley if it ensures that the Gers join their Old Firm rivals Celtic in the top flight next term.

Even loaning the League One champions fringe players from his Barclays Premier League club would help.