McCoist hits out at authorities

Sevco Scotland, who bought soon-to-be-liquidated Rangers' assets, has been granted temporary membership to allow McCoist to field a team against Brechin in the Ramsdens Cup first round on Monday (AEST) with the full transfer due to be completed within seven days.

In a joint statement from the football authorities and Sevco, it was revealed that Charles Green's company would accept a delayed one-year transfer embargo and liability for Rangers' football debts.

The document revealed the SPL had "reserved its position" over their probe into alleged undisclosed payments to Rangers players since 1998, which could see Rangers stripped of titles.

McCoist, who has had former Hearts trio Ian Black, Craig Beattie and Kevin Kyle training with him this week, believes his club have been unfairly treated after being voted into the Irn-Bru Third Division.

In a statement released by his club, McCoist said: "Forty-eight hours from now, we are supposed to start the season with a game at Brechin and, as I sit here today, I don't know exactly what our status in the game is, where our players that we have should be registered - and what the future holds for us going into next week.

"It's a ludicrous situation - and I owe it to our fans to make my views known on it.

"No-one is denying that Rangers were badly mismanaged for 10 months. Nor are we disputing that we should be punished for that. We have been. We accept that punishment and want to start putting the past behind us and move forward.

"But that is not being allowed to happen - and I have to ask myself why?

"In recent days, I have been in a number of meetings with Stewart Regan, Rod Petrie and other senior SFA figures - and despair at the lack of leadership shown.

"In my years in professional football, I have not always agreed with everything the SFA did or said. But, no matter what you thought of their decisions, there was no doubt they ran the game firmly and robustly.

"I can only imagine Ernie Walker looking down on us now and shaking his head in disbelief at the sad state of affairs and the way they have been mishandled.

"As for the SPL, they seem determined to pursue as hostile an agenda as possible towards Rangers.

"They kicked us out of the SPL - which was their right - and we acknowledge that - but that doesn't seem enough for Neil Doncaster and some of his board.

"Not only as they are withholding our SPL prize money for last season - they won't tell us how much it is but we reckon it to be about £1.3million.

"And having said they don't want us - they do want a bigger share of the TV money that our presence will bring to the SFL and its clubs. Never mind sporting integrity - where is the moral integrity there?

"And there is no line to be drawn in the sand. Rangers have not been punished enough in their eyes and along with one or two people who have a vested interest within SPL clubs, our right to past titles will be challenged.

"They want what we and our fans bring, yet seem determined to strip us of every bit of our dignity. It has to stop.

"Sadly, only one Scottish football body has offered us any help or assistance - the SFL - and I would like to thank David Longmuir, Jim Ballantyne and 29 of their 30 member clubs for inviting us into the SFL.

"We are grateful for the opportunity. We are looking forward to the challenges ahead, making new friends in the months ahead and having a positive impact on the SFL.

"It is now over five months since Rangers went into administration. It is time to start playing football again - and I am not alone in thinking this.

"In recent days I have bumped into Celtic, Hearts and Motherwell fans, and they were saying the same thing - It's time to stop kicking Rangers and start getting Scottish football looking forward not back. I couldn't agree more."