Ally McCoist is set to return to punditry, this time with BT Sport, after reaching settlement over the remainder of his contract at Rangers.
McCoist had been on gardening leave from Ibrox since tendering his resignation last December – he continued to receive a full salary worth £800,000 per year during this intervening period.
That deal still had three months to run but it was confirmed on Thursday that McCoist and the club had agreed on “early termination”. McCoist pointed towards a “dream job” in a “nightmare scenario” at Ibrox because of off-field upheaval but his management style was not short of critics.
McCoist is now poised to return to media work having previously worked for ITV. A BT spokesman offered only “no comment” when the imminent arrival of the 52-year-old Scot was put to him by the Guardian but it is understood McCoist will shortly return to the airwaves.
The extent of McCoist’s role and whether or not he will combine it with other media is unclear; BT has revealed an extensive and high-profile studio cast list for its forthcoming Champions League coverage, including Gary Lineker, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Harry Redknapp.
The Scottish Professional Football League has announced that Sky and BT will continue to screen live matches until 2020. A shared deal was already in place until the end of the 2016-17 season.
Under those existing terms Sky had the right to trigger an extra three years of coverage. They duly did that, with a fresh BT deal subsequently negotiated. It has also been suggested by sources within the Scottish game that BT could increase its interest there by taking over live rights for the League Cup, which are currently held by BBC Scotland, from next season.
