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All eyes on Ibrox as McCoist revels in domestic bliss . . .


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ALLY McCOIST may have failed to keep Rangers in Europe for long this season, but his staggering record in the Scottish Premier League since taking over from Walter Smith has firmly focused the continentâ??s attention on Ibrox.

 

Rangersâ?? remarkable unbeaten record in the league has put McCoistâ??s team out in front of just about every European rival and when the Ibrox manager puts his own record next to the work put in by Smith last season, the only club that can boast a better unbeaten record in European league football is FC Porto.

 

The Portuguese champions have amassed a remarkable 49 games without defeat, stretching back to February when they lost 3-0 to Sporting Lisbon, but Rangers are easily the next best top-flight side on the continent with a 21-game unbeaten run.

 

The last time Rangers lost in the SPL was on April 2 when Dundee United won 3-2 at Ibrox and, with a home game tomorrow against St Johnstone â?? who have not won a league match in Govan since the 1970s â?? McCoistâ??s men seem certain to make that 22 games unbeaten against his old team.

 

When Rangers exited the Champions League and the Europa League at the qualifying hurdles to Malmo and Maribor respectively, McCoist was left with the domestic scene to make his mark upon. He has done that emphatically.

 

Rangers can also boast a better record than the best unbeaten sides in the Barclays Premier League, where Newcastle United protect the longest record with just 14 games since they lost at Liverpool in May. Current leaders Manchester City may have dropped fewer points than Rangers this term, with just one draw in their 11 games, but McCoistâ??s men have racked up more wins with 12 victories out of 14 SPL games.

 

The only time the SPL leaders have not won this season was on the opening day of the campaign in a 1-1 draw with Hearts â?? and then another 1-1 draw with St Mirren at Ibrox last month. The closest European top-flight side to Rangers are Serbian leaders FK Radnicki, who have posted a 20-game unbeaten run and, like Rangers, also lost last April.

 

That was the same month that Champions League winners Barcelona last tasted defeat in La Liga, but Pep Guardiolaâ??s men only have a 15-game unbeaten run and have drawn four times already this season, while current Spanish league leaders, Real Madrid, have already lost once this season.

 

In Greece and Italy, the best unbeaten runs are shared by Panathinaikos and Juventus with ten games each while Dynamo Kiev are the best in Ukraine with a 15-game unbeaten run.

 

Even the side with the meanest defence in Europe cannot match Rangers. Bayern Munich have conceded just four goals in the Bundesliga this term, but already the German league leaders have lost twice. Rangers have lost six SPL goals in this campaign â?? better than Real Madrid and Manchester City.

 

They have also dropped fewer points this term than Porto, who have drawn three times.

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/all-eyes-on-ibrox-as-mccoist-revels-in-domestic-bliss-1.1135588

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It's our home form that's letting us down, so I'm hoping that the game tomorrow with the Saints will be a 3 pointer and Ally has this imprinted into the players minds.

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I don't think we should be too judgemental if we have the odd draw - as long as it's only now and again. The fact that our unbeaten run is already attracting attention shows how difficult it is for teams to maintain such a record never mind a long winning streak. Wanting to win and being drummed into not slipping doesn't necessarily lead to winning for any team.

 

Actually, having a mentality where nothing less than perfection will do is usually counter-productive and leads to nerves and desperation followed by negative mental states when perfection is blemished. It's what leads to players and teams bottling it.

 

Allowing yourself to be less than perfect actually relaxes you and usually leads to better and more consistent performances. It's one of the premises behind "The Inner Game", a series of books original written for tennis but which has been applied to many sports and other performance skills like music.

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Some great stats there....and something that McCoist & Rangers in general should be proud of!!!

 

Just waiting on the "...but it's a Mickey Mouse league" etc comments....

 

tbf it is. The SPL is a terrible terrible league, but that doesn't alter the fact our record is excellent in this season.

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tbf it is. The SPL is a terrible terrible league, but that doesn't alter the fact our record is excellent in this season.

 

True,but it's all relative. It is a fantastic record and hopefuly it continues tomorrow. It's a good start for Ally and his team.

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True,but it's all relative. It is a fantastic record and hopefuly it continues tomorrow. It's a good start for Ally and his team.

 

Domestically he's done much better than I expected. That we're yet to lose is incredible, and that we've conceded only...is it one goal away from home is a staggering stat.

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"easily the next best top-flight side on the continent with a 21-game unbeaten run."

 

"The closest European top-flight side to Rangers are Serbian leaders FK Radnicki, who have posted a 20-game unbeaten run "

 

I was enjoying this piece of journalism until I got to the above two quotes. I am all for bigging us up, and our record IS enviable - but the use of the word "easily" is a very poor choice. 1 game more than Radnicki isnt "easily", not in my opinion anyway.

 

Doesnt take anything away from a positive article about us as well as a very healthy domestic record.

 

:rfc: Pedantic Loyal :rfc:

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