this medium that the Bellshill native
has captured hearts, with his amusing,
astute and intelligent observations –
not to mention an obvious love for the
game – shining through on talkSPORT,
and when he co-commentates for TV.
“I’m very lucky indeed, watching so
much football, and it’s lovely when
I hear how much the punters enjoy it,”
he tells FFT.
The 59-year-old is as charming and
enthusiastic as ever as he tackles yourquestions on the Gers, Gazza, rogue
firework displays, driving buses, hiding
dead fish, acting, being a mascot and
the odd bit of football. Let’s begin...How was your experience with Alex
Ferguson as a youngster? Is it true
he didn’t sign you for St Mirren as he
didn’t think you were good enough?
Tony Knight, via Instagram
That’s absolutely true! But he denies
saying I wasn’t good enough; it wasmore because he thought that I was
too wee – too small. We have this
conversation every time we meet and
we saw each other last week. I tell
everybody, “Even the great managers
make mistakes” and he calls me, “The
person who says he was the biggest
mistake I ever made as a manager”!
But I’ve got only good things to say
about Fergie. It’s unbelievable to look
back and think he used to pick me up
from school in East Kilbride, as he was
staying over there at the time. I would
jump into his car and we’d go over to
Love Street in Paisley, where I’d train
with the kids. He’d also drop me home
afterwards. And to be fair, he did try to
sign me a few years later at Aberdeen.What do you remember of your time
as a civil servant with the Overseas
Development Agency? Did you ever
think that could be your career?
Fiona Hill, Aberdeen
Wow, you’re taking me back a fair bit
there! I worked there just after I’d
left school when I was part-time with
St Johnstone. I enjoyed my time there,
actually, and I had a good boss who
let me leave early to get to training.
I didn’t think I’d stay there – I was still
hopeful that I could be a player, and
that’s what happened.How do you look back on your time
at Roker Park in the early ’80s?
Greg Allerton, South Shields
I loved my time at Sunderland [left].
There were some great players but the
team was struggling. I didn’t get many
opportunities – I was an 18-year-old
kid then. I still have two tickets at the
Stadium of Light, though, and I have
a real affinity with the club. I always
look for their results. I probably should
have made the move there a couple of
years later, because I was too young
at the time. But I played with some
great characters, and looking back, it
was a real education and it helped me.What impact did Graeme Souness, as
player-manager, and the big names
make at Rangers in the 1980s?
Reggie Simons, via Twitter
It grabbed Scottish football by the
scruff of the neck and gave it a real
shake. All of a sudden, we’d signed the
England captain Terry Butcher, and
their goalkeeper Chris Woods, as well
as guys like Ray Wilkins and Graham
Roberts – some of the best players in
the country. The whole place reallyInterview Sam Pilger
“The Scottish government had an
emergency meeting over me and
Neil Lennon having a chat on the
sidelines! It was well over the top”
ALLY M C COIST
YOU ASK
THE
QUESTIONS
S
ince the European Golden
Shoe was introduced, in
the 1967-68 season, only
four players have won the
trophy over two consecutive seasons:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Thierry
Henry... and Alistair Murdoch McCoist.
“My boys told me about that, and
not for one minute am I comparing
myself to those players – far from it –
but just to be mentioned around
them makes me very, very proud
indeed,” McCoist tells FourFourTwo
with a chuckle and his customary grin.
It’s just one thing among plenty that
can bring the cheery Scot a feeling of
pride, from a fine playing career that
spanned 22 years across four decades
and brought about 405 goals in 777
games at club level for St Johnstone,
Sunderland, Rangers and Kilmarnock.
A predator in the area, McCoist also
notched 19 times in 61 Scotland caps
and finished his career as Rangers’
all-time leading hitman – as a result,
he has the fifth-most league goals in
the history of Scottish football, and the
most in the post-war era.
After a turbulent three and a half
years as Rangers manager, during
which the club was liquidated due to
insolvency and reformed in the fourth
tier, McCoist moved into the calmer
world of radio and television. It’s in6 July 2022 FourFourTwo