Ally McCoist knows it takes nerves to step up in a cup final shootout – but insists Cyriel Dessers was a bigger man to duck OUT of hitting a spot kick.
The Rangers strike legend was arguably the greatest ever to wear the light blues No. 9 jersey and would always have loved the chance to bulge the net. His record 355 goals for the Ibrox club are testament to that.
But despite that, the 62-year-old didn’t join those slamming Dessers for not putting himself forward – even keeper Jack Butland stepping up and converting – in the agonising Premier Sports Cup final shootout defeat to Celtic at Hampden on Sunday. Ex Celtic man Charlie Mulgrew spoke after the game of how Tom Rogic had been cajoled into going up when he missed the decisive spot kick in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers in 2016.
McCoist, speaking exclusively to Record Sport, said: “If you have the Rangers No. 9 jersey on your back you should be stepping up to take a penalty in a shoot-out BUT it’s a bigger man that walks away if he doesn’t feel right for it. I always think your goalscorer should be taking our penalties because it’s an opportunity to score a goal.
“I was very surprised to see him not take it but I don’t know how he was feeling physically or mentally so if there’s something wrong it’s a bigger man actually who says ‘no, I’m not physically or mentally prepared for this’. I don’t know if that was the case with Dessers.
“Rangers forwards, all forwards in fact, need to score goals but if you have got a problem physically or mentally and you’re not up for it for whatever reason then it’s the correct thing to do.
“But I always took a penalty in any shootout we were involved in. I didn’t take all of our penalties during my time at Rangers as we had some great penalty takers – Davie Cooper, Mark Hateley, Ian Durrant – but I took more than my fair share in shootouts.
“Flip side of the coin, I don’t have a problem with goalkeepers taking one because the vast majority of all the goalies I played with were as good at kicking a ball, particularly a dead ball, as all my team-mates. Generally speaking goalkeepers tend to score penalties, although I know Joe Hart missed one.”
Record Sport columnist Chris Sutton claimed a seventh winless Old Firm derby could be the end of the road for Philippe Clement next month.
McCoist said: “I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to say the next Old Firm game will be defining for Philippe Clement but where I do agree with big Chris – for the first time in about 11 years! – is that he has to keep beating Celtic but that’s a fact regardless of who is the Rangers manager.
“If you are a Rangers manager you have to beat Celtic. If you are the centre forward at Rangers, you have to score goals against Celtic. If you are a goalkeeper you have to make big saves against Celtic. If you are a centre back, you have to keep clean sheets against Celtic and vice versa.
“That hasn’t changed over 100 years so Philippe Clement has to start winning games against Celtic and nobody will know that more than him but in the current climate there has been an improvement in the level of result and performance.”
**Ally McCoist was speaking on behalf of talksportbet.com