Rangers 'body blow' behind Ally McCoist talkSport no show as Jeff Stelling ribs him over title stumble

Jeff Stelling couldn't help but poke fun at Ally McCoist after Rangers suffered a "body blow" to their Premiership title chances.

The record Ibrox goal scorer was absent from the talkSport breakfast show, with Andy Townsend alongside Stelling in the studio instead. Listeners - most likely of a Celtic persuasion - had been in touch wondering where McCoist was. And Stelling offered a simple explanation for his no-show, reminding his audience of the result from Dingwall on Sunday, when a shock win for Ross County handed the advantage back to Brendan Rodgers' team in the title race.

And while Stelling was quick to acknowledge that the Light Blues can still finish the campaign as top dogs, he issued a reminder of previous defeats this season. He said: "A lot of you are asking where Ally McCoist is this morning. Well, Ross County 3 Rangers 2 explains everything. Ross County play in Dingwall by the way. Population 5,500 and they have never, ever, ever beaten Rangers."

Townsend: "They were one down as well."

Stelling: "Yeah, they went one down as well and it's a body blow as far as Rangers' title hopes are concerned."

Townsend: "They can still do it though."

Stelling: "Of course they can. They're four points adrift but still have a game in hand and still have Celtic to play as well. But they've lost half-a-dozen- times this season, not just to Ross County, but to Motherwell, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock as well. So it's not been a vintage season, even though they are in the title race."