ALLY McCOIST has had to be a lot more than just a football manager over the last few turbulent months at Rangers.

He has unwittingly found himself the focal point and figurehead for the club during the most testing time in its history.

Having agreed to take over the reins from Walter Smith in the summer after serving his time as assistant manager, no easy feat in itself, the new man found himself occupying one of the most pressurised jobs in the football.

Identifying and delivering signing targets, putting the players through their paces on a daily basis at Murray Park, trying to win football matches and dealing with the intense media interest in the club were aspects of the job McCoist fully expected to deal with.

What he didn't envisage, and most certainly couldn't have, was having to take a crash course in the various business implications of both administration and liquidation, dealing with administrators and finding himself in the midst of an epic battle to save the club.

He has, up until yesterday when American Bill Miller was finally announced as the preferred bidder to seize control of the Ibrox club, found himself in the middle of a living nightmare without the counsel of a chief executive, board members or an owner to turn to.

In many ways, despite the backing of a passionate support and no doubt his backroom staff, it has been a rather lonely place for the Rangers manager.

He has been the captain of a ship of which he had no idea where it was sailing, other than into more troubled waters.

Now, however, a rescue vessel has finally arrived in the shape of Miller. Time, of course, will tell if his leadership leads them to calmer waters.

It is impossible to say with any certainty whether he will actually become the new owner and what the future would hold for Rangers under him.

Ultimately, all the supporters are interested in is where their club will be once the dust settles on a takeover.

Will the club lose its history and tradition?

According to Miller, that won't be the case even though part of his strategy involves forming a 'newco' as well as the retention of the Rangers Football Club plc. That, though, could be argued against.

Will they still be playing in the SPL and, if so, what sanctions will they face?

Miller, it would appear, has already made serious headway in his attempts to ascertain exactly what the club's position is with the footballing authorities in regards to sanctions.

The smart money would have to be on the financial lure of having Rangers in the league proving too much for the member clubs to vote against.

What will happen to the players who have negotiated specific sell-on fees for agreeing to wage cuts of up to 75 per cent?

This is one of the most critical situations which has to be addressed.

Right now, the players are in a position of power. Miller, along with McCoist, would have to strike new deals with as many of them as possible before they invoke the clauses. Realistically though, some will leave for a fraction of their current value.

Will there be money for new signings?

Possibly the most asked question at this stage and from his conversations with Miller via conference calls, McCoist certainly believes so.

There won't be crazy figures being bandied about, as was the case when Whyte took over, but it is understood modest amounts of money will allow the manager to freshen his squad.

However, that is likely to come from the sale of existing players.

How strong a team can Rangers field next term?

That will depend on the previous questions. But Miller has made it clear the club must now live within its means which suggests there could be some further difficult times ahead until the Ibrox outfit is fully stablised.

McCoist, of course, knows a change of owner will bring its own pressure and expectation, which he will find himself responsible to meet.

This season, it could be argued the off-field problems glossed over a less than impressive picture of his team's performance up until the stage where they entered administration.

At the beginning of the season, his team were eliminated from not one but two European competitions with their unsuccessful bid to qualify for the Champions League quickly followed by failure to qualify for the Europa League.

An embarrassing defeat away to First Division Falkirk knocked them out of the League Cup and their Scottish Cup exit, on the back of a 2-0 defeat at home to Dundee United, was also prior to administration being an issue.

And, of course, they went from being 15 points clear of Old Firm rivals Celtic and within touching distance of the title to somehow finding themselves trailing by four points by the time the now disgraced owner Craig Whyte was forced to place the club in administration.

Just how big a part the man at the helm played in those disappointments is open to speculation as the true details of what summer recruits McCoist actually signed and which ones were forced on him has never been disclosed.

Under new leadership, the focus will once again revert to what is actually happening on the park as opposed to off the park.

That, you can rest assured, would be the sort of pressure McCoist would welcome after what he has been forced to contend with during a roller-coaster first year in charge.