McCoist steps up striker hunt

19 August 2011 17:02
Rangers manager Ally McCoist is on the lookout for a striker as he bids to strengthen his squad further before the end of the month.[LNB] The Ibrox side's recruitment drive gathered pace this week when they signed American duo Alejandro Bedoya and Carlos Bocanegra, with the latter making his debut in Thursday night's Europa League tie against Maribor.[LNB]But McCoist says there are still a number of players on his radar and he is determined to beat the transfer deadline and boost his numbers further.[LNB]He said: "We are still looking and we will continue to look as long as the window is open.[LNB]"There are three or four players we are looking at in forward positions and we will keep looking and keep searching away.[LNB]"There is nothing concrete or immediate happening at the moment but that's not to say that we would be averse to bringing one or two other players in."[LNB]However, one player who will not be making the switch to Rangers is Czech defender Marek Suchy.[LNB]He was linked with a loan move from Spartak Moscow but McCoist has now dropped his interest following the capture of Bocanegra.[LNB]He said: "We were interested in signing him but I'll be honest with you and say it has cooled now that we have got Carlos in.[LNB]"We were interested but the signing of Carlos would put an end to that."[LNB]Bocanegra made his Rangers bow in the play-off first leg following his move from St Etienne late on Wednesday night.[LNB]The United States skipper had left his home near Lyon in the early hours of the morning and flown to Frankfurt then Graz before being driven to the team's base in Slovenia.[LNB]And, despite suffering a 2-1 defeat on the night, McCoist had nothing but praise for his new signing.[LNB]He said: "I spoke to him once on the phone, he told me he wanted to come, and then made unbelievable efforts to come.[LNB]"It was just a complete and utter breath of fresh air and I thought 'he'll do for me'.[LNB]"He was up again at 6am this morning to get a flight from Graz to Charles de Gaulle airport to try to get his visa and hopefully be involved in the game on Sunday.[LNB]"That's the kind of attitude we would be looking for. It didn't surprise me. You do your homework on players and Carlos has struck me as someone who is always like that."[LNB]Rangers must now pick themselves up ahead of Sunday's trip to Motherwell, with Maribor coach Darko Milanic claiming McCoist's decision to replace Steven Naismith - who had been cautioned - with Kyle Lafferty at half-time swung the match in his own side's favour.[LNB]Reflecting on Friday's headlines, McCoist said: "You read one or two comments and hindsight is the best thing in the world.[LNB]"But I certainly do not regret the decision to make the substitution because that had to be made. Without going into too much detail, believe me, it had to be made.[LNB]"Whether it was the right man I put on, that's up for debate. As a manager, you will always get different opinions and I totally accept that.[LNB]"We didn't put Kyle on to play in a straight 4-4-2, we wanted him to play a little bit deeper but it didn't work out that way.[LNB]"Listen, if our midfield can't match up against their midfield, then I think we've got a problem. Last night in the second half we did have a problem and they definitely got the better of us in the second half."[LNB]Meanwhile, McCoist declined to become embroiled in a "squabble" with the Bosnian federation after Rangers denied their claims that Sasa Papac is suffering from pneumonia.[LNB]He said: "Not being a medical man, all I can say is that from the conversation I had with him yesterday he was feeling a lot better and that's the most important thing.[LNB]"The squabble about how ill he is doesn't really concern me that much. The important thing is that he's a lot better."

Source: Team_Talk