McCoist not feeling under pressure

26 August 2011 08:00

Ally McCoist claims he does not feel under any extra pressure after Rangers crashed out of the Europa League to Maribor at Ibrox on Thursday.

The Scottish champions could only muster a 1-1 draw on the night, allowing the Slovenians to progress to the group stages with a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Rangers had already exited Champions League qualifying at the hands of Malmo but McCoist insists he is not feeling the strain following another disappointing night, saying: "I don't feel any more pressure. I just feel disappointment - disappointment for the fans and for the players. I certainly don't feel pressure."

Carlos Bocanegra opened his goalscoring account for his new club to cancel out Dalibor Volas' opener but Rangers could not find another goal to at least force the tie to extra-time, despite dominating the chances.

McCoist added: "My over-riding feeling is one of bitter disappointment. We felt we created enough chances to win a couple of games but, if you don't take those chances, there is always a chance that it will come back to bite you. I think the second 45 minutes in Maribor cost us the tie.

"Whether I think we deserve to go out or not doesn't really matter, we are out and that's the reality. What matters now is how we react to it - and we will be fine. It's a sore one but we will take it on the chin and get on with it."

Rangers were not the only team to suffer disappointment on what was a disastrous night for Scottish football. Celtic slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Swiss side Sion, while Hearts lost 5-0 over two legs against Tottenham. Those results mean Scotland has no representatives in Europe beyond the end of August for the first time ever.

McCoist said: "It was a really disappointing night for Scottish football but tonight is not the night to go into it. Over the next few days, there will be time to digest it."

Maribor coach Darko Milanic felt the result was a case of the underdog triumphing over a side he always claimed were favourites to progress in the competition.

He said: "This was an exceptional success for the team, for the club and for Slovenian football. It was a difficult match and the opponents forced a lot of pressure on our boys but we reacted well. We are very, very satisfied. In football, sometimes it is not always the big clubs who win, sometimes the small club wins."

Source: PA