McCoist won't concede SPL title

He says he has been surprised by some of the revelations in the past few days after Duff and Phelps took control of the Scottish champion on Tuesday.

The administrators were called in over an unpaid tax bill of £9million ($13.2 million) accrued since Craig Whyte's takeover last May.

McCoist said: "Well I have to inform you that I am as surprised at some of the revelations as the next man.

"Of that there is no doubt.

"The one thing I would say to you is that I'm a Rangers supporter and I want some answers, I would like some answers.

"Today probably isn't the right time to go into that in greater detail.

"The most important thing for everybody at the club is the game.

"But like every Rangers supporter, I would like one or two questions answered."

Asked if he has spoken to owner Whyte since the club went into administration on Tuesday, McCoist replied: "No."

The Rangers boss, who revealed Saturday's (Sunday 02:00 AEDT) game against Kilmarnock at Ibrox is now sold out, added: "The way things are currently, my most important thing is focusing my team on the game tomorrow.

"That is our immediate concern."

McCoist refused to concede the Scottish Premier League title race is over but admitted it is no longer his or the club's priority.

However, McCoist insists the potential for job losses at the club, as a result of any cost-cutting measures implemented by administrators Duff and Phelps, overshadows anything that happens on the pitch.

He said: "In terms of the administration, the worrying thing is for the staff because we are talking about people's livelihoods, people's jobs. That's the biggest problem we are facing.

"Three points tomorrow is vitally important, the league campaign is still vitally important but, more importantly than that, we are dealing with people's livelihoods and we are talking about the future of our football club.

"It's very harsh on the players, unbelievably harsh on the players.

"But I would argue the fact that people losing their livelihoods is more important than us losing 10 points in the league.

"I genuinely mean that and I would stand by that. We are all faced with the 10-point deduction. There is nothing we can do about it so let's get on with it."

Rangers owner Craig Whyte said he remains "100% confident" the administrators will prove all money that has come in and gone out of the club during his tenure has been properly accounted for.

Whyte also said he would not be attending the Ibrox match against Kilmarnock, to avoid becoming a distraction to the team.

The Scottish Football Association confirmed it would launch an independent inquiry into events at Rangers, specifically a number of "potential breaches of the SFA's articles of association".

Asked what he hopes to achieve from the season now, McCoist said: "What I want is for my club to come out of administration and to march into the future.

"That will be the case. I don't have any doubts about that.

"The ideal scenario is that we can get out of administration before the end of March, and have the potential to still be accepted for Europe.

"That's the ideal situation I want our football club to be in - to get over this traumatic time and come out of it on the other side, battered and bruised, but ready to march forward."

McCoist dismissed any possibility of him quitting as manager with the answer "We don't do walking away" - a phrase which instantly began trending on social networking sites.

He said: "It wasn't premeditated or anything like that. Effectively, it was a statement of fact because we don't.

"This institution has been around for 140 years and I want it to be around for the next 140 years, as do thousands of other people. You don't do that if you walk away.

"I'm not going to sit here and say I know all the answers because I don't.

"But I can assure every Rangers fan that I'm with them and I will do my level best and so will all my staff.

"I've got an awful lot of responsibility, which I certainly will not shirk."

The club's record goalscorer added: "I've definitely had better weeks but, as crazy as it may seem, I'm as positive today as I've been in a long, long time.

"Our club is coming through a very traumatic time - it's probably as low as it has been.

"Having said that, we have had disasters at this football club in 1902, 1961 and 1971, where people lost their lives, which in the grand scheme of things, puts everything into perspective.

"We are extremely disappointed to be where we are at the moment but I'll tell you right now, we're not going to be there for long."

McCoist has already demanded answers after the club was plunged into administration and was quizzed on whether he feels he has been misled by Whyte.

He said: "I can't answer that question because I don't know what the outcome is going to be. In the circumstances, I really can't answer that question.

"It's not a cop-out because I don't know where the administration is going to take us and what it's going to divulge.

"Once we get those answers, then I will be able to give you a proper answer."

McCoist remained hopeful over the signing of striker Daniel Cousin, whose move to Ibrox was announced the day before Rangers went into administration.

Cousin had not been registered by the SPL but McCoist had hoped that would be approved and he planned to include the Gabon international in his squad for the game on Saturday.

But in a further blow for the club, Rangers was told the SPL board had refused to authorise the signing.