Scottish Football: McCoist Needs to Stop Copying Walter Smith's Tactics

4-5-1.

To most football fans, this is just a formation.

But to Rangers fans, this is the formation that formed the core of Walter Smith's successful four-year tenure as manager of the Govan side.

Smith's team, which won the SPL three times in a row and also reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2008, was based upon a solid defence with counter-attacking capabilities.

On their epic European run, Smith mainly deployed a back four of Kirk Broadfoot, Davie Weir, Carlos Cuellar and Sasa Papac; a midfield five of Steven Whittaker, Brahim Hemdani, Barry Ferguson, Kevin Thomson and Steven Davis; and a sole striker, usually Jean-Claude Darcheville.

This is the side which ground out 0-0 draws and sneaked 1-0 wins en-route to the final in Manchester.

This is the side which won the League three times in a row after steely, dogged and determined performances against arch-rivals Celtic.

But that was then, and this is now.

Ally McCoist, who hasn't enjoyed the greatest of starts as Rangers boss, still has some of the players who competed against Zenit in May 2008, but times have changed and McCoist needs to form his own philosophies, tactics and formations.

Sure, being assistant to Smith for more than three years is going to have an impact on your own managerial career, but it doesn't mean that it should be the cornerstone of it—especially when you don't have the same type of players anymore.

At the back, only Cuellar has left the club (although he looks like he may be returning in the near future). 

But it's the midfield where things are crucial for Ally.

Hemdani, Ferguson and Thomson are all gone, whilst Whittaker has reverted to his original position of right-back. This leaves Steven Davis as the sole survivor of the UEFA Cup team. His current teammates include Maurice Edu, Lee McCulloch, Jamie Ness and John Fleck.

Up front, the days of Jean-Claude Darcheville are long gone and have been replaced by the free-scoring abilities of Nikica Jelavic and the talented Steven Naismith.

However, regardless of the raft of new players and the fact that the era of Walter is now over, McCoist seems determined to continue his predecessor's defensive-minded tactics.

Despite the managerial genius that he was, Smith often played Davis (the club's best player) out of position on the right wing where he was mostly ineffectual. And it seems that McCoist is following Smith's penchant for playing players out of position.

This is both confusing and frustrating for Rangers fans when earlier in the summer, the club splashed the cash on right-sided midfielder Juan Manuel Ortiz.

So why does McCoist continue to play Davis, a centre-mid, in the right of midfield, when he has a naturally right-sided player in Ortiz?

Simple. Following the 'Way of Walter'.

With the players McCoist has at his disposal, McCoist should be playing a 4-4-2, or perhaps even a 4-1-3-2.

But due to his "internship" spent with Smith, McCoist continues to persevere with an ineffectual and defensive 4-5-1.

Although there was a glimpse of change in their recent game against St. Johnstone, it remains to be seen whether or not McCoist will see the light and realise that playing £4 million-rated Jelavic and Naismith in attack more often makes too much sense to ignore.

Perhaps a day will come when McCoist will utilise the talents of the youngster Gregg Wylde in left-mid instead of playing Sasa Papac, a left-back, out of position.

One final tactic McCoist seems to be rigidly sticking to is the attitude towards substitutes: Leave them until it's too late, or simply don't make them at all.

Walter Smith was roundly criticised for his lack of substitutions in crucial games when his side were really needing a boost.

And there was a case of déjà-vu last week when some journalists questioned McCoist for not bringing on the likes of Wylde and Ortiz sooner in their Champions League match with Malmo.

So—McCoist is persevering with a 4-5-1 formation that doesn't suit the players he has at his disposal, he continues to play players out of position and he refuses to make substitutions earlier in matches. It's not looking promising for Ally.

But the question is, will things change?

Will McCoist realise the fans' frustrations at playing a formation from a previous era, with players who should be competing in their natural positions?

Will he eventually see the benefit of making substitutions?

I hate to use the old cliché, but in this case it applies—only time will tell.