Disgruntled Rangers fans were today warned that sacking manager Ally McCoist will achieve nothing - due to the ongoing off-field uncertainty at Ibrox.

The pressure on under-fire Gers boss McCoist has increased massively following a disastrous run of results in the last few weeks.

His side has fallen nine points adrift in the race for the SPFL Championship after drawing 1-1 with Alloa at home and losing 2-0 to Hearts away.

The Light Blues also blew a two-goal lead against part-time Alloa and crashed out of the Petrofac Training Cup at the Indodrill Stadium last week.

The legendary striker has now been targeted by Rangers supporters - the first time in his turbulent three-and-a-half year reign that has happened - on two occasions.

And internet message boards and radio phone-ins have been inundated with fans who would like to see a new man take over the running of the team.

But former captain Ally Dawson reckons his old club will only be able to savour success on the park when financial stability is secured off it. "There is so much uncertainty at Rangers at the moment, and nothing will get better until that situation sorts itself out," he said.

"People say that what happens elsewhere at the club doesn't affect what happens out on the park, but, believe me, it does."

Dawson looked on as John Greig, another all-time Rangers great, bowed to protests in the stands and resigned from his position as manager back in 1983. The final days of Greig's troubled spell as boss bear many similarities to the difficulties current gaffer McCoist is experiencing now.

The displays of the Rangers team had been disappointing, the size of crowds at Ibrox had dropped dramatically, and the fans were growing restless. But the departure of Greig and the return of Jock Wallace, who had led the club to domestic Trebles in 1976 and 1978, failed to have the desired impact.

The Scottish title remained elusive until Graeme Souness was appointed manager in 1986 - and there was substantial investment in the playing squad. Dawson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame three years ago, saw exactly what it took to turn the

Glasgow giants from under-achievers into champions.

And he feels that stopping Rangers haemorrhaging money and getting the Ibrox club on a firm financial footing should be the top priority. He said: "Ally is, like John, a great former

player who has become manager. But his situation is far more complex due to the position the club is in.

"John didn't have the same unrest at the club in his time in charge. At no stage was the club in threat of going into administration like it is at the moment. It just required a little bit of investment - and a few years after John stood down it finally got it."

Dawson added: "A lot of things happened to turn it around. But the main thing was that new owners came in who were committed to investing. They could see the huge potential of the club and brought in Terry Butcher, who was the captain of England at that time. Of course, Rangers couldn't possibly do anything like that now, but it is going to take something like that."

Dawson, who moved into management when he hung up his boots and spent a spell in charge of Hamilton Academical, has sympathy for his old Rangers team-mate.

He said: "Ally's task is to get the club back into the SPFL

Premiership, and he is doing that. It might not be pretty at times and the football might not be great. But the pressure that is on everybody at the club is intense. Members of staff are losing their jobs behind the scenes. Ally has definitely

taken on his first full-time managerial role at the worst possible time.

"Your mind gets taken away from what you should be doing if other things are going on, if there are other distractions."

Greig, who lifted the European Cup-Winners' Cup in Barcelona in 1972, was voted the Greatest-Ever Ranger in a poll of supporters in 1999. His time as manager is widely regarded as a failure - despite the fact he won the League Cup twice and the Scottish Cup twice in his five years in charge.

But ex-Scotland internationalist Dawson, who captained the Gers during his 10 years as a player, remembers him being a shrewd coach and inspirational leader.

He said: "John almost won the Treble in his first year in charge. He was one game away from winning the Premier League.

"He inherited an experienced side. The likes of Sandy Jardine, Alex MacDonald,

Tommy McLean, Colin Jackson, Tam Forsyth and Peter McCloy were all there.

"They were great players - as they proved by winning the League Cup and Scottish Cup and challenging strongly for the Premier League when they were in their thirties."

Dawson added: "Jock was a great man-manager. He knew everything about you, about your family background and your playing career. He was a great motivator, too.

"But John had a lot of those qualities as well. He was under a great deal of pressure and was in charge at a difficult time. I think people realised what he had done after he had gone.

"And Ally is in a far more complex situation. It's not as simple as saying: 'Well, he has this much money to spend so he should be a success'. There are a lot of factors involved in making a club successful."