Life and times of Ally McCoist

Ally McCoist won 18 trophies in his time with Rangers

Former Scotland, St Johnstone, Sunderland, Rangers and Kilmarnock striker Ally McCoist finally ended his football playing career at the weekend after 23 years in the game.

In that time, McCoist has guaranteed himself legendary status in Scottish football history thanks to his prolific goalscoring record.

He began his professional life as a teenager at St Johnstone in 1978.

Nineteen appearances in his first two seasons at Muirton Park brought no goals, but 22 goals in 38 appearances in season 1981-82 led Sunderland to secure his services for £400,000.

McCoist started his career at St Johnstone

His two seasons at Roker Park were not the most fruitful of his career, yielding only eight goals and he returned to Scotland and Rangers in 1983 for £185,000.

McCoist made his competitive debut for the Ibrox side on the opening day of the 1983-84 season against St Mirren and went on to score nine goals that year.

The highlight was a hat-trick in the Scottish League Cup final victory over Celtic.

With Rangers still a team very much in the doldrums, McCoist managed a creditable 12 goals the following season as he began to endear himself to the club's fans.

His chirpy nature made him difficult to dislike and he soon earned the nickname "Super Ally" with 24 goals in season 1985-86.

He made his international debut against Holland in 1986, the same year Graeme Souness arrived at Rangers to begin the Ibrox revolution.

Golden Boot winner

McCoist was an ever-present in Rangers' title-winning side of 1987, notching 33 goals along the way and another hat-trick in the League Cup final against Celtic brought further accolades his way.

His tally of 31 goals the following season could not prevent Celtic regaining the league title and, although Rangers recaptured their crown in 1988-89, McCoist played only 19 games.

That title win was the first of nine-in-a-row, but McCoist found himself in and out of the first team for the first three of those successes.

But when Walter Smith took over from Souness, McCoist returned to the fore and won both Players' Player of the Year and the Sportswriters' award after scoring 34 goals in season 1991-92 as Rangers completed a domestic treble.

Those goals won him the European Golden Boot - the first time a Scot had won the award - and he repeated that feat a year later.

That despite breaking his leg against Portugal in April and missing the last seven matches of the season.

McCoist has always been up for a laugh

His appearances were limited over the following two seasons as a result of niggling injuries though, in typical fashion, he came off the bench to score an overhead kick to win the 1993 League Cup final against Hibs.

He played more regularly in the 1995-96 season, scoring 16 goals before netting a spectacular long-range drive at Euro '96 against Switzerland.

His last appearance in a Rangers jersey came in the 1998 Scottish Cup final when he scored in a 2-1 defeat by Hearts.

He joined Kilmarnock after the disappointment of being left out of Craig Brown's Scotland squad for the 1998 World Cup and scored eight goals in his first season at Rugby Park.

Another leg break the following season was a further blow, but by this stage he was a television personality.

With his footballing career now over, McCoist can look forward to even greater exposure on the small screen.

A Hollywood career could also be in the offing, with an appearance alongside Robert Duvall already on his CV.