Ally McCoist has tendered his resignation to the Rangers board, with the timescale for the manager's departure now the only item up for debate.

The dramatic news broke on Friday, just hours before Rangers travelled to face Queen of the South in a Scottish Championship fixture. McCoist is still expected to take charge for that match.

With McCoist’s team trailing Hearts by nine points in Scotland’s second tier, the manager has been under increasing pressure from elements of the Rangers support. Those close to McCoist have hinted that it may always have been his intention to depart Rangers next summer but recent events have forced the legendary striker’s hand.

McCoist is known to have become increasingly disillusioned both with the running of Rangers and the effect the job is having on himself and his family. The club can now either pay him the remaining 12 months of his salary, as is highly unlikely, leave him in office or place McCoist on gardening leave until a compromise can be reached. The full severance deal would be worth £1 million; a sum Rangers cannot afford in their current financial predicament.

There has also been concern in the Rangers boardroom over the manager’s performance, not least because of dwindling attendances. Derek Llambias, the former Newcastle United chief executive, is in effect controlling day-to-day Ibrox affairs amid the rising influence of Mike Ashley at the Scottish club.

Billy Davies would be the leading candidate to succeed McCoist, the former Nottingham Forest manager having been present at a number of Rangers fixtures recently and he is known to have held lifelong aspirations of taking charge at Ibrox.

(Guardian Service)