The 2000-01 season was Ally McCoist's final season so here is a scrap book of how Scottish football's Peter Pan exited stage right!

July 6th 2000...Bobby Williamson On Ally.... 

Ally is looking good in training, is getting fitter and is deciding whether he'll continue playing. We will speak to him and make a decision after pre-season. We have quite a big squad and players will have to go out before others come in.

July 14th...Bobby On Coisty

I think Coisty will be with us for the new campaign. I've spoken to him and he's been working hard on his fitness. He's put in two weeks' work and has gone through his pre-season. He still has a lot to offer us on and off the park, as he continues to show the same appetite for the game and for life that he always has. He's a good guy to be around and we're happy to have him around.

August 3rd...McCoist On Re-Signing with Killie

I like Raith manager Peter Hetherston and he's got a great set of lads, but if I hadn't signed for Kilmarnock I probably would have chucked it to be honest. Kilmarnock will be the team I have spent the second longest time with after Rangers if you can believe that so maybe I'm fishing for a testimonial! I would say there is a better-than-even chance this is my last season. If I hadn't have got through pre-season I would have known to give up now, but once I'd managed that it didn't take me long to decide. I know life will be terrible for me without football. It'll be an absolute nightmare for me because it's not just the playing. I love the whole package which goes with it. I don't think there has ever been a morning when I've woken up not wanting to go into training. I just think being a footballer is the best job in the world. Missing the dressing-room banter will be harder than not playing. 

August 23rd...Ally on his fitness & scoring the CIS winner against Clyde

I've lost a buttock and about three chins and I'm feeling really fit and enjoying my football again. Nobody loves to score goals more than me and I really loved that one last night. It gave me as much pleasure as any goal I've ever scored and I'm thrilled to bits with it.

August 26th...Ally McCoist on the Ref's 'no call'

The only way he'll (Young the ref.) give me a penalty is if I get GBH inside the box - even then that's debatable.

September 6th...Ally on his League Cup career

Obviously I'm delighted to equal Bobby's (Bobby Lennox of Celtic from the 1970's) record and I don't think he'll be making a comeback to challenge me. It's great to have nine winners and one losers medal in the League Cup. It has been a great competition for me over the years. Scoring goals always means a lot to me. I don't care if they are 25-yarders or a tap in with my knee, they are all good.

September 6th...Bobby Williamson on Coisty scoring the CIS winner against the Saints

Ally keeps proving everybody wrong but he can do it at this level. We are delighted to still have him at Rugby Park because, give him a chance, and he is sure to take it. He had a good effort right at the start of the second-half which was inches out. But we are all pleased that he managed to get the goal which got us into the next round. In the second half, I thought it was going to take only one goal and sure enough your man popped up again for us. That's another record and it will be very difficult for anyone to break those records (Ally tied Bobby Lennox on the night) that he has got. He certainly deserved his goal for the work he did. When Old Firm players come to Rugby Park the fans expect more from them. To be honest I don't think the stick is that bad. One or two dish it out, but I feel they are the indignant ones but we don't have many of them. He works hard in training and that reflects great credit on him. If he wasn't doing that he wouldn't be selected, it's as simple as that.

September 7th...Paul Wright on Super Ally

It's impossible to get a pass from the old man when he's inside the box at the best of times, so can you imagine what he's going to be like when he's got a chance of the record! I was delighted he took one of the 10 chances he had on Tuesday night. Seriously, his attitude is magnificent. He has done everything in the game yet his desire to win is as strong as ever. He could be our lucky mascot in the CIS Cup. After all, he got the winner in our first round against Clyde and has now done the same against St Johnstone. The chance to break this record means he will be up for the quarter-final like never before. Knowing how he keeps writing his own fairytales, I think he'll probably get it. I know you shouldn't look too far ahead but getting to the semi last year was a good experience and we are just one game away from repeating that. We are playing well and our confidence is high. No matter who we get in the quarter- final draw we'll approach the tie positively. With the old man in the team, you just know that we will always have a chance!

September 8th...Ally on his last professional season

This is definitely going to be my last season and I can't think of any better way to go out than with a smile on my face. After breaking my leg last year I felt it was the wrong way to end it all, and my ambition is to really enjoy myself this year and at the same time try to help Killie achieve as high a finish in the league as possible. I feel as good as I have done for a long while. I have lost weight. I'm training regularly and the main thing is I'm featuring in the squad every week. I have to say I'm dreading the day when I no longer go into training and I'm out of the day-to-day involvement in football. I really enjoy going in every day and getting the crack in the dressing room with the lads. In fact, I look forward to it. I don't think there has ever been a day when I have felt unhappy about going into training. From that point of view I just have to stay in football, whether it's coaching kids or working doing quite a bit of that and contrary to what some people may think it has never affected my training with Killie. Working with Des Lynam, for example, on the Champions League matches has been fantastic because I have learned so much from him. I have taken to wearing an earpiece on the programme and I can hear all the instructions that are being shouted at Des while he stays so cool and controlled. He's just the best in the business. As a team we have started quite well. We can feel unlucky to have lost to both Rangers and Celtic and we are starting to score a few more goals than we did last year when we had too many draws. The manager has more options too because the team has been doing well and yet we have guys like Ian Durrant who are fit again and ready to play.
 
September 8th...Bobby on Coisty's Form

He's working harder than ever before as he's fighting the battle of the bulge, middle-age spread, and he's fought it a lot better than I have! Hopefully he can keep on breaking records and scoring goals. I'm delighted for him. I think he's got every record going in Scottish football now. No-one deserves it more than he does.

September 14th...Bobby on Coisty's availability after Canada trip

I'll have a talk with him and see how he is, but Ally is well used to travelling and I'm not too concerned about how this will have affected him. (Ally is returning from Canada after the premier of the movie A Shot at Glory).

September 15th...Derek Whyte of Aberdeen

It's hard to believe but Ally is old enough to be the father of some of these young boys and it's important for us to watch him because he is still dangerous. There is plenty of experience there and he is still scoring goals but I would expect him to be up to his usual tricks of trying to talk the young boys off their game. He will still try and do that with me as well but the bottom line is that he's a superb finisher so we will have to do our best to limit his chances in the game. Ally is probably the best goalscorer that Scotland has ever produced, so it will great for our young boys to get the experience of playing against him. They will certainly learn a few things from it and I know from facing Ally when he was at his peak just how hard a job it is to keep him quiet.

September 24th...McCoist on being dropped for the Hearts SKY Match

I wont say I am sick... it's more like spewing! And its not my fault the manager has made a mistake! 

October 1st...McCoist on a bad miss against Dundee

The guys were asking me afterwards if it took a deflection, but I assured them I am capable of hitting it that high over the bar.

October 5th...McCoist on retiring

I know I've said this before, but this will be my last year. I would have stopped at the end of last season if I hadn't broken my leg. The year has started well. Hopefully, it will continue, I'm feeling fit and have been in the squad every week. My ambition this year is to enjoy myself as I'm more or less resigned to the fact that this will be my last season. I want to score goals and win the cup, play regularly and play well. The injury was a massive blow. I felt I didn't want to bow out as I thought I still had a bit to offer. I'm dreading retirement, there's no way I could walk away from football, I'd have to stay in the game in some capacity.

November 21st...Ally on Killie's Form

(Ally has been out with a calf strain since October) Hibs were beaten on Saturday and we must look to catch them. That's the good thing because with ourselves and Hibs, it has brought a freshness to the league. The boys are playing some great football, although we're not playing much better than when we were struggling last season. We are getting breaks. I mean at Fir Park on Saturday Motherwell had a chance at 1-1 and missed it then we went up the park and scored the deflected goal through Cocard. Craig Dargo has come in and was man of the match in my opinion and then Paul Wright has scored two goals in the last two games. They will be difficult to get out. If your team's winning and getting results, then it is a happier place. Even the way we have been getting results have been good because in the last couple of games we've come back from a goal behind early on.

December 29th...Ally Observations

Second place would be fantastic. For Kilmarnock to get into the Champions League would be some achievement and there's no reason why we can't do it. But of course you have to win matches against Rangers and Celtic and, hopefully, we can win at Rugby Park on Saturday. We may have beaten Rangers 3-0 at Ibrox, but sometimes these results happen. I don't expect the same again. Rangers have been getting results recently and though they dropped points at Tannadice, they will still be dangerous. They know they can't afford to lose any more games if they want to win the league. There is still a slight chance they can do it, but they won't get it easy at Rugby Park. I can't believe I haven't been able to score against my old team. When you leave a club you always want to score against them, but I haven't managed that yet and I'm taking a slagging. I will probably be retiring at the end of the season so I've only a couple of games left to get my goal. I just hope I stay fit.

January 12th 2001... Ally named Top TV pundit

The veteran Killie striker polled 32% of the votes by readers of the UK's biggest selling football magazine, Match. And that was enough to pip fellow Scot Alan Hansen and see off other top telly commentators Andy Gray, Terry Venables and Ron Atkinson. Ally landed the title after viewers reckoned his performances in front of the cameras during Euro 2000 and this season's Champions League were the best in Britain.

January 12th...Ally on Being a TV pundit

The first time I appeared as a pundit I was worried, no doubt about it. You're nervous, but not with fear, more from the anticipation and the adrenalin buzz. I was told to be myself, be natural. There's no point in trying to be something you're not.

January 13th...Ally To Play for Morton

Ally McCoist has permission, to play for Morton in a friendly against St Mirren this weekend (Jan 22nd). The Cappielow club failed in a bid to sign the former Scotland star in a bid to boost attendance's as cash flow remains at crisis point, but the player said he is willing to feature for them against Tom Hendrie's St Mirren this weekend in a fund-raiser to keep cash flowing to pay the players wages.

February 4th...Ally Announces His Retirement

Ally McCoist has revealed he will quit playing senior football for Kilmarnock at the end of this season as he claimed he's far too old. Some of his team-mates unkindly said this morning they thought he had quit last season as they hadn't noticed, but that's just the sort of banter Super Ally will miss. A dedicated professional - despite the fact he's always late for everything - he knows just how much of a blow it will be to leave the game, but reckons time has caught up with him. The Scotland legend has failed to recover from injuries as quickly as he would have liked, but we know he will continue to train with the club as he looks at how to spend his millions.

March 20th...Bobby Williamson on Ally McCoist

McCoist is moving ever closer to the moment when the only dressing room he enters will be for make-up as a microphone replaces football boots. What a sad loss he will be and I've already said to him I want him back at Kilmarnock just to have him around the place. His enthusiasm rubs off on other people and I don't want to see him cut his ties with football. I don't think he will because he loves it so much. I know he will have television commitments - he's talented in that, too - but we are here for him in whatever capacity. The only difference is I can't pay him.

April 8th...Press on another Coisty Milestone

Ally McCoist, in the fourth decade of his remarkable career, maintained an astonishing record yesterday when he fired Kilmarnock into the lead against Dunfermline in the closing moments of the first half. The 38-year-old striker's goal means that when he hangs up his boots at the end of the present campaign he will be able to reflect on the fact that he managed to score a league goal in every one of the seasons he graced from the age of 17. Should we be surprised that the man known affectionately as Coisty cannot help but provide us scribes with a headline? I think not. After all, Super Ally has been doing the same thing for the best part of 22 years.

April 10th...Teammate Garry Hay on Coisty

He has a great will to win as I noticed in the build up to the CIS Cup Final. He thought we could win the competition and along with Ian Durrant he has given this club a lot of belief. He's a great guy to have in the dressing room, such a bubbly character and he will be a big loss. I hope he stays in the game because it will be such a boost for the kids here if he becomes a coach. He has so much to offer and they'll learn a helluva lot.

Apr 10th Bobby on Coisty on eve of Rangers Game

People say McCoist is only in the team because he's my mate but he's not my mate. He's my work-mate and colleague but he wouldn't be in the side if he wasn't doing it on the park. He does it every day on the training ground, he's never lost the appetite and you saw his reaction when he scored last Saturday. It was clear how much scoring goals still means to him. He's got nothing to prove to Rangers because he's a legend there. Some of the supporters here might not like him for that but I've no doubts about his loyalty to Kilmarnock.

Apr 15th 2001 Ally on his penalty miss against Rangers

Initially I didn't want to comment on such allegations (missing the penalty on purpose) and I wanted to treat them with the contempt they deserved. I can't believe anyone would suggest such a thing. It seems to have stemmed from the fact I was speaking to Stefan Klos before the kick and that I was telling him which way I was going to put it. But I'm more than capable of missing penalty kicks myself as I've done throughout my career.

May 10th...Bobby Williamson on ITV wanting Coisty for their FA Cup coverage

Killie boss Bobby Williamson has refused striker Ally McCoist permission to join television giants ITV for this weekend's FA Cup Final. He said "I pick the Kilmarnock team, not the guys from a television station. I've not made any decision about my plans for the Rangers game yet, but Ally could be part of it. He's aware of the ground rules about his TV appearances, of course he is. The team requirements come first and he knows that."

May 12th...McCoist on Williamson Not Playing Him At Ibrox

It's fair to say I did feel a little bit sorry for the gaffer. He was getting put under pressure but his job isn't to entertain 46,000 Rangers fans. Though he did his best today.

May 12th...McCoist on Advocaat Sending Him on to the Ibrox Pitch

The irony was not lost on me. I would like to thank him because I don't think I would have gone out there to say cheerio and that would have been something I'd have regretted for the rest of my life.

May 17th...Bobby on Coisty on eve of Celtic Game

I'm not going to start talking again about Ally McCoist. I answered all the rubbish about him last week. He's in the squad for Sunday's game and he is the reckoning for a place just like all the other players I've got available.

May 18th...Tom Boyd (Celtic) on Facing Ally for the last time

I've got a lot of memories about Ally McCoist and most are bad. He's scored a few against us and most of them have been in important matches. But hopefully I can take the smile off his face tomorrow in his final game for Kilmarnock, if I'm playing.

May 19th...Gus MacPherson on Coisty Playing against Celtic

It's the manager's decision but I think there is a good chance Coisty will start. He's been on fire in training this week and looked sharper than I've seen him for a long time. It says a great deal about his strength of character after what happened last weekend at Ibrox. He was disappointed but he also understood the manager's decision and there's been no sign of animosity between them. It's going to be Coisty's last game and, knowing him, he'll be determined to go out on a high. He still has a tremendous appetite for the game and it would be just like Coisty to pop up with a goal.

May 21st...Ally's Final Player Press Conference

Wee Durranty is organising my farewell bash tonight. I'd imagine you'll probably be reading about it soon. But I'm looking forward to it - I think it ends a week on Tuesday. Overall I have no right to look back with regret or remorse. It has been like being on the biggest and best roller coaster ride ever for 23 years. I have had the chance to live out every schoolboy's dream. Sure, it has not been plain sailing all the way but it's been some experience and the good times have far outnumbered the bad ones. The great thing is I have probably learned more from the downs than I have from the ups. So there is no way I can stand here and say I wish I was just starting out again. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.         

May 21st... Ally on Killie's Season

It feels good. I would have been gutted if we had failed to qualify for Europe but for us to win 1-0 against Celtic and make it into the UEFA Cup means I go out on the biggest high possible. I had it in the back of my mind that Hearts would beat Dundee so I knew we had to win. It makes the difference between a good season and a brilliant season and we would have been really disappointed if we had lost that European spot. We had a lot of pluses today. Young Paul Di Giacomo was very good. He has a lot to learn but he has a lot of promise.

Kilmarnock Games:

                1998-1999            Played  26           Scored  7              goals      SPL

                1999-2000            Played  9              Scored  1              goal        SPL

                2000-2001            Played  18           Scored  1              goal        SPL