FORMER Rangers star Dave McPherson is backing Ally McCoist to be a top boss in the future and insists the criticism of his tenure as Rangers manager is completely unjustified.

Players who worked with McCoist and ex-team-mates have put the boot in since he resigned and was placed on gardening leave back in December last year.

Everything from his player recruitment strategy, style of play and training methods have been called into question in a number of quarters as supporters relish the way Mark Warburton’s side has played in the first three games of his reign.

McPherson, however, who played with McCoist in the tough early 1980s and also the trophy-laden nine in a row era says the stick his old mate is getting is out of order.

He believes that few if any men could have handled the fire-fighting job McCoist had to do in the wake of the disastrous Craig Whyte period and the subsequent corporate carnage and mis-management.

McPherson said: “I don’t think people should be talking badly about Ally the way some people have.

“I think we have all under-estimated what he had to go through for effectively four years.

“I don’t think anyone can really understand how difficult it was for him to handle the terrible things that were happening off the field.

“He was spending more time dealing with all of these very serious issues and there was never a period of stability during his time as manager.

“There was always something going on and while that was happening he had to run the football side of things.

“I have huge sympathy for Ally because his time as manager was the toughest time for any Rangers manager – it was so, so difficult.

“I think the stick and the criticism aimed at him has been unfair and unjustified.

“He was the manager the lowest point in the club’s history and I don’t think it’s fair to judge him as a manager on that basis.

“Ally will go back into management and he will do really well because he is a top guy and a top manager.”

McPherson, meanwhile, would love to see Rangers make a move for Scotland striker Stevie May as rumours persist that a move will be made to bring him back north from Sheffield Wednesday.

He said: “I had heard there had been some talk about him before. He’s certainly a player that can score goals.

“He looks like someone who could add to what’s happening at the moment.

“What I like about the way the manager and Davie Weir have gone about things is that they have brought in the right characters.

“It’s not just about bringing in the right players, it’s bringing in the right players with the right attitude.

“It looks like they have made the right checks to see that they are able to cope with playing at a club like Rangers – because it is a big demand.”