It is quite rare that a recently appointed manager is provided the opportunity to lift silverware in the first few months of their reign, but that is the prospect facing Michael Beale on 26 February when he faces Celtic in the Viaplay Cup Final.
Victory will provide silverware and the foundation to push for more titles, defeat will leave the club and supporters with further feelings of disappointment.
The situation is not too dissimilar to the one faced by Jock Wallace back on Sunday, 25 March, 1984 when he took Rangers to Hampden to face Celtic in the Skol Cup final. It would be a day that would secure Wallace his first trophy since returning to the club, and one that introduced the world to a certain Alastair Murdoch McCoist.
Wallace had returned to Rangers in the November of ’83 after they had suffered a catastrophic start to the 83/84 campaign. The season opened at Ibrox to St Mirren on 20 August where a 1-1 draw, thanks to a Robert Prytz penalty, was all Rangers could muster.
If that draw was disappointing then what followed was an outright disaster as Rangers lost their next three games against Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen. The defeat against Celtic provided one memorable moment, however, with the aforementioned Ally McCoist, recently signed from Sunderland, scoring his first Old Firm goal after a mere 27 seconds.
Rangers recovered some form, but by October John Greig was under huge pressure and back-to-back defeats against Dundee at Dens Park and Motherwell at Ibrox forced the club to take decisive action. John Greig was sacked, with Tommy McLean put in temporary charge as they attempted to recruit firstly Alex Ferguson from Aberdeen, then Jim McLean from Dundee Utd. When both refused the advances of Rangers, the club looked to former manager Jock Wallace.
Wallace was appointed on 10 November at a point when Rangers were on a run of four straight defeats. His arrival couldn’t stop that run stretching to a fifth consecutive defeat as Rangers lost 3-0 at Pittodrie on 12 November.
Rangers ended the run of defeats with a 0-0 draw against Dundee Utd at Ibrox on 19 November. Wallace was re-introduced to a delirious Ibrox support prior to the game, whom welcomed home the man who had secured two trebles in his previous spell as manager as if he were some sort of footballing messiah.
Wallace also done his cause with supporters no harm by briefly reintroducing the traditional black and red socks (pictured above), an undoubted nod to a support that treasures tradition more than most. The draw was mildly disappointing on the day, but Rangers would embark on a run of form in the league which would not see them lose again until April against Celtic.
As impressive as that run was, it could not undo the damage the early season form had inflicted on the league campaign and Rangers would finish in fourth place behind winners Aberdeen, second placed Celtic and third placed Dundee Utd – winning only 15 of their 36 games.
The Scottish Cup campaign also came to anticlimactic end after a quarter-final 3-2 home defeat to Dundee a week prior to the League Cup final against Celtic. To make matters worse, Ian Redford was sent off in the closing stages meaning he would miss the final the following week.
Rangers saved their best form for the League Cup and reached the final thanks to topping Group 2 with six wins out of six against Hearts, Clydebank and St Mirren, scoring 18 goals on the way without conceding. They then took Dundee Utd on the semi-final over two legs, drawing 1-1 at Tannadice and winning 2-0 at Ibrox – with the aforementioned Ian Redford scoring a brilliant 35 yard lob to make it 2-0 and seal a place in the final.
Despite this supreme form in the League Cup, Rangers entered the fray at Hampden on 25 March knowing that failure to win on the day would mean ending the season empty handed – the pressure was on. Not that Jock Wallace looked like a man under pressure prior to game, giving his infamous “battle fever” speech to a waiting TV crew.
The day would belong to one man – Ally McCoist. As previously stated he had already struck against Celtic earlier in the season, but this final would see 21 year old make history – not to mention taking home the match ball.
Rangers started the better of the two teams, and John MacDonald had an effort cleared off the line in after seven minutes as Rangers looked to grab the early initiative. The day may be remembered for McCoist hat-trick heroics, but Bobby Russell’s contribution on the day should not go unnoticed. He put in an excellent performance and it was he who was fouled for the 44th minute penalty which would give Rangers the lead.
Cooper played a delightful ball to Russell in the box who took it past Murdo MacLeod, forcing him to bring the Rangers midfielder down. Referee Bob Valentine pointed to the spot and McCoist made no mistake from 12 yards to put Rangers one up.
Just before the hour mark Rangers found themselves in dreamland when they went 2-0 up. Peter McCloy hit a huge kick upfield, Sandy Clark outmuscled Roy Aitken to head in the direction of the onrushing McCoist, who made it 2-0 and put Rangers firmly in the driving seat.
But Celtic struck back seven minutes later with a well worked free-kick which set up Brian McClair to halve the deficit and bring the Parkhead side back into the match.
Rangers held on and looked like they had done enough to win the cup until the dying seconds when McCoist was judged to have fouled Murdo MacLeod in the box, allowing Mark Reid to hammer home a last gasp equaliser from the spot and take the game into extra time.
Tiredness was now creeping into proceedings and that was certainly how it looked when Roy Aitken lazily slammed into the back of Ally McCoist in the 104th minute, giving Bob Valentine the opportunity to point to the spot for the third time in the match. Ally McCoist stepped up to secure his name in the history books with an Old Firm final hat-trick, but watched in horror as Pat Bonner guessed correctly and saved his initial kick – but McCoist confirmed his place in history by scoring the rebound to ensure a Rangers victory with a 3-2 scoreline.
For McCoist it marked the beginning of an illustrious career at Ibrox which would see him score 355 goals, win ten league titles, one Scottish Cup and nine League Cups. He would also win two European Golden Boot awards in 91/92 and 92/93.
For Jock Wallace the win would not be the springboard to further success everyone had hoped for. He would lead Rangers back to Hampden for the final of the same competition sevenths months later where an Iain Ferguson goal would secure the trophy against Dundee Utd – a win that would turn out to be Wallace’s last honour with Rangers.
Despite a bright start to the 84/85 campaign, Rangers would again finish in fourth position, winning only 13 of their 36 games. Dundee would yet again end the Scottish Cup dream, with future Ranger John Brown scoring the winner on what was an infamously dreadful day for a Ally McCoist.
The 85/86 campaign would prove to be even worse for Wallace. Hibs ended Rangers’ hold of the League Cup in October, Hearts brought the Scottish Cup campaign to an premature end at the third round stage in January and by April Rangers had already lost 12 league games and would eventually finish in 5th place – the same amount of points away from bottom placed Clydebank as champions Celtic.
It was obvious that changes had to be made and the club acted on 6 April after a home defeat to Spurs in a challenge match, sacking Wallace and replacing him with Graeme Souness.
It was a sad end for Wallace, a man who had served the club so well in the past. However that victory against Celtic remains a significant one in the club’s history, not to mention in the career of a Ally McCoist. We can only hope for a similar result on Sunday.
Rangers – McCloy, Nicholl, Dawson, McClelland, Paterson, McPherson, Russell, McCoist, Clark, McDonald, Cooper. Subs – McAdam, Burns
GOALS: McCoist 44 (pen), 56, 104 (pen)
Celtic – Bonner, McGrain, Reid, Aitken, McAdam, McLeod, Provan, McStay, McGarvey, Burns, McClair, Subs – Sinclair, Melrose
GOALS: McClair 67; Reid 89
Referee – Bob Valentine
Attendance – 66,369
The Lower Third 