Source: Team_Talk
Walter: McCoist's passion is key
Former Rangers winger Mark Walters feels Ally McCoist's passion for the club can help him tackle the formidable task of following Walter Smith.[LNB] Smith is looking to bow out of football management at the end of the season with a third consecutive Scottish Premier League title, despite being unable to buy a player for a two-year spell.[LNB]Smith has also won four trophies in three seasons during his second spell in charge and taken Rangers to the UEFA Cup final.[LNB]Assistant McCoist has been groomed as his successor since both gave up jobs with Scotland to return to their first love.[LNB]And Walters, who played under Smith and alongside McCoist in the late 1980s and early 1990s, believes his former team-mate's enthusiasm for the club can help him follow his mentor.[LNB]"With all the money problems he has had, it's a tremendous achievement that he has kept them up there," Walters said of Smith. "The budget is totally different to the time when myself, Terry Butcher and Ray Wilkins and the likes were coming up.[LNB]"For someone coming in it's going to be difficult, even if Ally takes over.[LNB]"To achieve what he has done on a limited budget is unbelievable."[LNB]McCoist previously rejected chances to move into full-time coaching but Walters was not surprised to see the former Scotland striker give up his television career and devote himself to Rangers again.[LNB]"Obviously Ally has a reputation of being a fun guy but when it comes to football he is very serious," said Walters, who was back in Glasgow promoting ESPN's live coverage of the SPL clash between St Mirren and Rangers on Sunday.[LNB]"He knows his stuff, he is a good coach and he is aware of what Glasgow Rangers means to the supporters, which is a really important thing.[LNB]"Having worked under Walter, he must have learnt loads of stuff.[LNB]"He is a young man in terms of experience but he should definitely get a chance to show what he can do and I think he'll relish it.[LNB]"He has got the attributes as a coach and man-management skills to do well."[LNB]However, Walters did not detect that serious side when they played together.[LNB]"I'll be honest with you, no," the former Aston Villa and Liverpool player said. "But when Ally got down to business, on the training pitch for instance, he always loved scoring goals.[LNB]"You don't score that many goals by being lackadaisical about football. You could always tell he was passionate about football.[LNB]"I'll be honest, it has surprised how much he has taken to it because he has other things he was interested in.[LNB]"But Glasgow Rangers is his life. There are not many things he would dedicate himself to as a player, in my opinion, but Glasgow Rangers was definitely one."
