Scotland legend Ally McCoist has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson’s resolution to reject him as a teenager at St Mirren in 1978 ultimately proved a precious learning abilities he then faded himself as a manager at Rangers.
Ferguson had released a teenage McCoist at St Mirren for being too small. While devastated, he never forgot how the future Aberdeen and Manchester United boss broke the information gently, encouraging the budding striker to display him unsuitable by becoming a success in diversified places.
“I took that message with me so powerful that I faded to say the same to boys I released when I was manager of Rangers,” McCoist tells FourFourTwo about his three-year spell from 2011.
Sir Alex Ferguson taught Ally McCoist important lesson
“That was the most unpleasant part of the job by a country mile, having to take a seat across the table from a young fella and say, ‘We’re not offering you a contract’. I would echo Fergie: ‘Wherever you meander, nothing will give me more satisfaction than if you come back and display me unsuitable’.”
How would Ferguson’s career have gone, if he’d actually signed McCoist?
“Before Scotland’s Euro 2024 opener against Germany this summer season, I was at this titanic charity dinner with Fergie – another party before the tournament started, as usual!” McCoist says. “I was interviewing him and said, ‘Gaffer, when you first started out as a manager, you went to St Mirren and failed to sign a future double European Golden Boot winner – but to be fair to you, you didn’t half recover from that mistake!’
“He then went into a 15-minute rant where he destroyed me! He handled his career totally and I don’t suppose it would have diverted too powerful if he’d signed me at St Mirren – I believe he’d have probably bought over that as neatly!”
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McCoist, meanwhile, managed to acquire over the disappointment of being rejected by Ferguson to excel at St Johnstone. But while a travel to Sunderland in the early 80s did not rather meander to plan, he returned to Scotland, this time with Rangers, in 1983 and went on to plunder 355 goals in 581 appearances.
McCoist’s goalscoring prowess saw him earn the European Golden Boot for the 2 consecutive season tallies of 34 he managed in the 1991/92 and 1992/93 seasons.
