Euphoric Ally McCoist has declared he wouldn’t have missed Rangers’ emphatic victory over Celtic for anything and believes Callum McGregor is struggling under pressure after failing to make an impact in the derby.
The Ibrox legend wasn’t working in a professional capacity during the match but was in attendance as a fan to witness Philippe Clement’s team dominate their city rivals.
Speaking on talkSPORT with Celtic-supporting host Alan Brazil, McCoist was teased about earlier comments suggesting he might not make it to the game.
McCoist laughed off the banter, saying: “I was always going, boys, don’t you worry about that! I wasn’t missing that for anything. What about that for a performance?!”
McCoist then turned his attention to Callum McGregor, who failed to live up to his usual high standards.
The Rangers icon noted that Celtic’s captain has been effectively neutralized in recent games, particularly in midfield battles like the one at Ibrox.
He said: “The one thing I would say is Callum McGregor’s been really, really quiet. Certainly in the last couple of games, he’s had his card marked a little bit. They’ve just put someone right on him and he’s finding it a lot more difficult to get on the ball.”
McCoist also expressed his delight for Philippe Clement, who secured his first Old Firm victory since taking charge of Rangers. The result, he said, was particularly significant given Brendan Rodgers’ strong track record in these fixtures.
“I was delighted for Clement. His first victory against Celtic in seven attempts. As you correctly pointed out yesterday, Brendan’s record in Old Firms is absolutely remarkable. It was a big result for Rangers but particularly for the manager, you could actually feel it and see it in his interviews after the game.”
The former Rangers striker admitted he was surprised by the extent of his team’s dominance, highlighting the lack of fight from Celtic and the gulf in performance levels.
“The surprising thing, really, was the margin of the victory and the gap between the two teams. I know it’s only one game, I’m not going to get carried away, because Celtic are going to win the league. But even that performance surprised me, the levels from both teams.”
Reflecting on Celtic’s performance, McCoist suggested there were few, if any, positives for the visitors.
“Celtic, I don’t know if you’re giving any of them a pass mark. I genuinely don’t know if you’d give any of them. They were (second best all over the pitch). I can’t remember them having a shot at goal in the second half.”
“The question now to ask of Rangers, rightly so, is can they go to Easter Road and deliver the same performance.”
