Ally McCoist

St Johnstone

McCoist's first professional club was St Johnstone, having signed from Fir Park Boys Club in 1978. He had been denied a move to St Mirren because Alex Ferguson thought he was not good enough. "When I was 14, 15, Sir Alex used to pick me up from school. I used to go to Hunter High in East Kilbride, and he stayed up in Greenhills, I think it was, in East Kilbride. And he used to pick me up – myself and another lad, Stevie Cowan, who he did sign at St Mirren and went to Aberdeen with him. We'd train with the S-forms, and Sir Alex would take the training with the first team and the reserves. And then Stevie and I would wait, and Sir Alex would give us a couple of quid and we'd nip round to the chippie in Love Street. We'd go back and wait for Sir Alex finishing, and then he would drop us off at the house." McCoist made his debut for St Johnstone on 7 April 1979 in a 3–0 win over Raith Rovers. He did not score his first goal for the club until he scored Saints' final goal in a 3–0 win against Dumbarton in August 1980. He went on to score 23 goals in 43 appearances that season, including a consolation against Rangers in a 3–1 defeat in a Scottish Cup replay. Due to his form with both St Johnstone and the Scotland under-18 side, McCoist gained the attention of several English clubs, including Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Middlesbrough and Tottenham Hotspur. He started the 1981–82 season with four goals in five League Cup games, including the opening…

McCoist joined the Scotland coaching staff under his former manager at Rangers, Walter Smith, in 2004. He turned down the managerial position at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2006 as he wanted a job nearer his Glasgow home.

Rangers

Smith's assistant (2007–11)

McCoist returned to Rangers as an assistant manager to Walter Smith in January 2007. After Rangers' victory over Queen of the South in the 2008 Scottish Cup final, Smith revealed that McCoist had been in charge of the team for the entire cup campaign. "Obviously, Walter had me in mind for the manager's position when he stepped down, and for a couple of the Scottish Cup runs he let me take the team. I'd do the preparation and the training, but obviously he'd be there. I'd do the team talk, all that kind of stuff." The duo also guided Rangers to the final of that year's UEFA Cup, in which they lost 2–0 to Zenit Saint Petersburg. On 22 February 2011 he was announced as the new Rangers manager, with effect from June 2011.

2011–12 season

Businessman Craig Whyte bought out Sir David Murray as Rangers' majority shareholder in May 2011. Whyte said he was proud to be the owner of Rangers and pledged to invest £25 million into transfers, over five years. McCoist's first competitive game in charge of Rangers came on 23 July 2011, a 1–1 draw at home to Hearts on the opening day of the 2011–12 SPL. After the game McCoist complained to BBC Scotland about a report that he argued misrepresented his…

McCoist is also known for his television work. He was a team captain on the BBC's A Question of Sport from 1996 to 2007 with his rival captains being John Parrott, Frankie Dettori and Matt Dawson, making a record 363 appearances on the show. Having been passed over for Scotland's 1998 World Cup squad, McCoist was recruited to the BBC's punditry team for the tournament, where he proved a popular addition. He also co-presented a late night chat show McCoist and MacAulay for BBC Scotland from 1998 to 1999 alongside comedian Fred MacAulay. In 2001, McCoist won Sports Presenter of the Year at the TRIC Awards. In 2000, McCoist also starred in the film A Shot at Glory alongside Robert Duvall, playing Jackie McQuillan, a fictional legendary ex-Celtic player. McCoist wore a Rangers jersey under his Celtic one to keep the material off his skin. Between 1998 and 2005, McCoist, along with John Motson, appeared as a commentator for the FIFA video games series by EA Sports. They were replaced by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray for FIFA 06. McCoist has been a regular pundit for ITV Sport's football coverage. In 2010, he was a regular co-commentator for ESPN at the 2010 World Cup working alongside Martin Tyler or Derek Rae. McCoist worked for ITV during the 2018 World Cup, and his partnership with main commentator Jon Champion was praised by various media sources. From the start of the 2017–18 season McCoist worked as a studio pundit for BT Sport's coverage of the SPFL and the Scottish…

Born at Bellshill Maternity Hospital and raised in East Kilbride, McCoist attended Maxwellton Primary and Hunter High School. His high-school team coach and chemistry teacher was former Clyde and Scotland forward Archie Robertson, who was acknowledged by McCoist for his guidance and influence, but who died in 1978 just as his protégé's career was taking off. Upon leaving school, McCoist had a short spell working as a clerical assistant in the Overseas Development Administration (now the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office) branch office at Hairmyres. The role offered flexible working arrangements, allowing him to organise his hours around his football career.