How many Old Firm goals did Ally McCoist score? Rangers legend’s record v Celtic - goals, appearances & more

Rangers and Celtic will battle it out this weekend in the first Old Firm clash of the 2023/24 season.

The Old Firm derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in world football and it often plays a key role in dictating the title race come the end of the season.

It is a stage where heroes are made and icons of the game such as Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Henrik Larsson and Paul Gascoigne have all competed in the historic fixture. But there are few who have enjoyed bigger impacts on the Old Firm derby than Rangers superstar Ally McCoist.

The former football manager turned pundit is best known by younger audiences for his role as a pundit and commentator on TalkSport and Amazon Prime. But he was once regarded as one of the most lethal strikers in the Scottish Premiership and he remains to this day the Old Firm’s most prolific goalscorer.

Here we take a look back at the career of Ally McCoist and why he remains an all time Rangers great.

When did Ally McCoist play for Rangers?

Ally McCoist arrived at Rangers in 1983. The Scottish forward had made a name for himself during spells at St Johnstone at Sunderland but he established himself as one of Scotland’s leading strikers during a prolific 15-year stint at Ibrox.

McCoist won the Scottish League Cup in all of his first three seasons at the club and he was named top scorer in the 1985/86 campaign.

He had to wait four years for his first Scottish Premiership title which came during the 1986/87 season under the guidance of Graeme Souness.

In the decade that followed McCoist would enjoy the most successful spell of his career and his team won nine of the next 10 Scottish titles.

He established himself as a Scottish international in this period and went on to make 61 appearances scoring 19 goals. He competed in the 1990 World Cup, Euro 92 and Euro 96 - his one goal in a major tournament came in his final tournament against Switzerland as Scotland exited in the group stage on goal difference.

McCoist left Rangers in 1998 and spent the final three years of his career at Kilmarnock.

His final ever appearance was a 1-0 victory over Celtic, coincidentally he was replaced during the game by future Rangers star Kris Boyd who made his competitive debut in the fixture.

How many goal did Ally McCoist score in the Old Firm derby?

Ally McCoist is the all-time leading goalscorer in the Old Firm derby and he ultimately proved to be a standout player in a dominant period for the Gers.

Overall he scored 26 goals in 55 appearances, 17 of which came in the league. Second behind him is Robert Hamilton, who played for Rangers during two spells between 1897 and 1908, with 24 goals in 46 games.