Ally McCoist Reflects on 1980s Management: ‘When I mention Big Jock Wallace’s punch, no one says, ‘That’s awful,’ but rather ‘You must have deserved it’—and I did!

Even after 40 years, Ally McCoist vividly remembers the ironic details of when his manager at Rangers, Jock Wallace, landed a punch straight on his chin.

“The 1984 Olympics were on – it’s scarred me that much, I can remember the boxing was on the telly!” McCoist chuckles while speaking to FourFourTwo exactly 40 years later.

During his second pre-season at the Ibrox club, the young striker had been at the club for just over a year, and inexperience caught up with him.

‘He’s absolutely livid’

“He was strict about curfews,” McCoist says, referring to manager Jock Wallace, who ultimately claimed ten trophies with Rangers. “When I was around 21, he caught me returning from the pub about five to ten minutes late during a pre-season tour.”

“I went upstairs, panicking more than you can imagine. My roommate Cammy Fraser was trying to calm me down – I said, ‘He’s absolutely livid.’ Just then, there was a loud bang on the door.

“Cammy said, ‘I’ll handle this,’ got up, walked toward the door… then turned to the right, walked into the bathroom, and locked that door. I thought, ‘Hey, you bastard.’

“As I reached for the door to my room – it suddenly got kicked off its hinges, and I was hit with a jab that floored me. When I opened my eyes, Jock loomed over me, saying, ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’ I thought, ‘F**k me, this is the warm-up!’”

“Fortunately, he’d cooled down by morning, but what a man, I absolutely loved him. When I recount that Big Jock landed a punch on my chin, no one ever says, ‘That’s awful,’ but, ‘You must have deserved it,’ which, to be fair, I did!”

Wallace managed Rangers over two tenures, totaling 308 games and achieving a 65.26% win rate. He was a classic Scottish manager of his era, known for his strict discipline.

Between his two stints with Rangers, he managed a young Gary Lineker, who remembers being pinned against the dressing room wall by Wallace during half-time once. “He called me a lazy English so-and-so. We were 2–0 up, and I’d scored both goals. I didn’t score in the second half – I was still shaking!”

Despite his tough approach, many of Wallace’s former players, including McCoist and Lineker, continue to hold him in high esteem. He passed away in 1996 at the age of 60.