So, what did you say to Neil Lennon
when the two of you embraced, let’s
say ‘passionately’, as managers of
Rangers and Celtic during an Old
Firm clash in 2011?
Janet Franklin, Glasgow
That was no big deal. I genuinely can’t
remember – I was just caught up in the
game. The punters don’t realise that
15 minutes after the match finished,
we were both back in his office having
a bottle of beer with each other. We
were having a laugh at the stupidity
of it all. The Scottish government went
well over the top afterwards: Alex
Salmond was organising all sorts of
conferences about it! The following
weekend there were 10 rugby lads
punching lumps out of each other –
the referee sent a couple of them off
and that was the last we heard of the
matter. The Scottish government had
an emergency meeting over me and
Neil having a chat on the sidelines!Why did you leave Rangers in 2014,
and what did you get up to on your
infamous gardening leave?
Mar Mac, via Facebook
I just used the time to regroup and
spend time with my family. It was
the right thing to do, as the job was
affecting my health, and there is
nothing more important than that. It
was a decision that the board took
because I wasn’t going to see out my
contract. It gave me the opportunity
to get my life back.If the right offer came in, would you
consider a return to management?
Charly Kay, via Instagram
If the right offer ever came along, then
I would have to think long about it, ofcourse. But, being brutally honest, I’m
in a very good place now. I’m watching
more football than I ever have done in
my life. I go to more games than ever.
I have had the chance to take some
jobs: Blackburn and Sunderland, and
I reckon that I dodged a bullet with
both of those. I was interviewed for
the Sunderland position and was lucky
that I didn’t get it.During the 2018 World Cup, you
were full of interesting facts about
the Russian cities where you were
commentating. Could you have
become a historian?
‘super.cool.fire.ponies’, via Instagram
I love the fact that punters enjoyed
that so much. Jon [Champion] and
I made sure that we would make it
a part of our commentary. We did
a lot of sightseeing: the ImmanuelKant statue in Kaliningrad, all over
Sochi and Stalin’s Dacha [personal
residence]... we went and got to know
these places. Jon set me up nicely by
speaking about Kazan. He asked me,
“What do you think?” and I replied,
“To be honest, Jon, this place hasn’t
half changed since it fell to Ivan the
Terrible in 1552.”Has anyone talked to you about
the seafood paella yet?
Michael Bochel, Guildford
[Confused for a while] What’s that?
Is that meant to mean something
to me? That’s going to annoy me...
Oh, no, I’ve got it, I know what he’s
talking about! Borough Market in
south London [where McCoist took
his Twitter followers on a guided tour
recently] – it’s near the talkSPORT
studios. They do the best seafood
paella there: they make it right in
front of you, in a massive dish, with
prawns and mussels. I sit and watch
them do it, and I defy anyone to
walk by and not buy some. The boy
making it just looks at me, nods and
serves me a big dish.Finally, would you rather be stuck on
a desert island with Paul Gascoigne,
Jamie O’Hara or Alan Brazil?
Max Pollard, via Twitter
Oh, that’s a good question. I’d have to
say Gascoigne, because, being there
on a desert island, he would entertain
you and there would never be a dull
moment. But it would have to be an
island where I could nip over to the
other side for a day or two, just to get
a bit of peace!McCoist has been an ambassador for
The National Lottery, who have invested
more than £5.7 billion into grassroots
sport since it was established in 1994YOU ASK
HIGHS & LOWS
HIGH: 1984
With Rangers in a bad patch, hits
three past Celtic to win League CupLOW: 1996
Nets Scotland’s only strike at Euros
but they’re ousted on goals scoredHIGH: 1997
Celebrates his ninth consecutive
league championship with RangersLOW: 1998
Left out of Scotland’s World Cup
squad in his final Rangers seasonHIGH: 2014
Guides Rangers to third-tier title;
first unbeaten season in 115 yearsClockwise from bottom
left Scoring Scotland’s
only goal at Euro 96;
“Hands where I can see
them, Paul”; one shoe
apiece for 1992-93’s top
scorers in England and
Scotland (and Europe);
beating Berwick; “Just
a chat on the sidelines”;
the only good kind of
Russian Ally; joining
Killie in the name of funFourFourTwo July 2022 11PictureTwitter/@JonChampionJC