ALLY McCoist's decision to resign as Rangers manager earlier this month didn't come to a huge surprise to most followers of Scottish football.

His side had suffered some bitterly disappointing results this season - not least to part-time Alloa in the semi-final of the Petrofac Training Cup.

And in recent weeks, as the Gers have fallen further behind in the SPFL Championship, he had started to be targeted for abuse by supporters of the Ibrox club.

I am sure Ally felt that, after nearly four years in charge, the time was right for him to move on and for the club to appoint somebody else to take them forward.

But I don't think it is the last we have seen of him.

Not by some distance. I reckon that, once he has completed his 12 month notice period, McCoist will be back in the game in some capacity either as a coach, a manager or as a television pundit.

He has been linked with a good few managerial jobs down in England during his time in charge and I am positive he will receive offers of work.

Despite some poor results, he has gained significant experience of working at a major club.

He has also been shown to have many great qualities - not least an ability to operate in adversity. I don't think many managers would have had the determination to stay in his position for so long given everything that the club has been through over the last few years.

McCoist underlined that he is true Rangers man with his remarkable loyalty to the Ibrox club.

Nobody could have criticised him if he had moved on given the conditions he was forced to work under.

I know that Ally will be the first person to admit that very often the Gers didn't play particularly good football during his time in charge.

But he certainly got the job that he was paid to do done.

Climbing back up the leagues was the most important objective.

Rangers won the Third Division title after a very demanding season in the bottom tier and went undefeated in League One last season.

And they have progressed to the latter stages of the cup competitions.

This season the Gers have beaten three SPFL Premiership clubs - Inverness Caleonian Thistle, St. Johnstone and Kilmarnock - in the League Cup and Scottish Cup.

I have seen quite a bit of Ally's side in my role with BT Sport and at times I have questioned whether his players shared the same level of commitment as their manager.

Indeed, at times it has seemed to me that certain individuals have just been going through the motions.

The Rangers supporters have deserved more from some of their players.

I commentated on the Rangers match against Queen of the South at Palmerston Park after news of Ally's resignation broke.

His side was comprehensively outplayed by the home team and deserved to be on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat.

The Glasgow club was without both Lewis Macleod and Lee Walllace that night. Without their two best players, they offered very little and were easily defeated.

Another option for Ally now will be to return to television work and I am sure that plenty of opportunities will open up for him in that area as well.

Ally was my co-commentator during the World Cup in South Africa back in 2010 and I saw at close quarters how much he brought to the role.

He was very knowledgeable and professional.

He has, of course, worked extensively in the media in the past - most famously when he was a captain on Question of Sport - and I think he will be a man who is very much in demand.