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Ally McCoist was lauded by the Rangers fans for sticking by the club as they entered administration in 2012.

David: "It was a shock. I thought he might have stayed on for next season but if we get another decent manager we should be all right in the long run. All the commotion with the people taking money out the club, we need to get the club back on track again. The guy is an absolute Rangers legend. He has taken us all the way up from Division Three and we have a chance to get back into the Premiership."

Male fan: "I'm not shocked. I suppose it's the best thing in the long run. He was brilliant. I don't think he could do any more. He was good for Rangers. He was brilliant as a player but not as a manager. He has done his best and you've got to give him credit for that. I wish him all the best."

And from earlier today, Celtic manager Ronny Deila believes Kris Commons is "taking a risk" if he sticks rigidly to his demands over a new contract. Commons, 31, has been at Celtic since 2011 and is believed to want a two-year extension, rather than a one-year deal.

"Negotiation is to try and get an agreement and when you go into the media you have to be strict - this is normal procedure," said Deila.

Deila insists the midfielder had not been offered a one-year contract.

In other news, this time across in the east end of Glasgow, Celtic have announced that Shunsuke Nakamura will return to the stadium on Sunday and will take a bow in front of the fans.

Tom English
BBC Scotland

"What an unseemly mess this has become. Ally McCoist and the Rangers board are in a stand-off and nobody can be sure who will blink first. You'd hesitate to give McCoist advice, but if he's had enough of life in this job then he should quit and announce that he is not talking a penny in compensation, unlike so many others in the abject tale of Rangers' demise. From the moral high ground he could announce that's he going to write a book and will expose some of the things that have gone on in the last three years. A last act for which the fans will love him forever."

David Burgess: "If Ally goes then bring in Butcher to shake this shambles of a team they call themselves Rangers players."

Tony Kerr: "If Ally walks who would ever enter that cauldron?"

Robert Adamson: "Been coming but what is left behind. A club close to administration and a squad of overpaid underperforming players who have little or no quality and are clearly heading for second best in the Championship. Rangers FC are shambolic on and off the field and the fans are talking with there feet. 29,000 but actually 20,000. Can it get much lower?"

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"I'm shocked. I know there has been a lot of criticism of Ally but I think the job that he has done in the last couple of years has been sensational in the face of unbelievable adversity. I know people criticise the way Rangers play but it's very difficult to play attractive football when teams come and park the bus.

"I feel he has done what he was asked to do, which was to get Rangers promoted in two successive seasons and he was on course to do it again.

"I'm very disappointed for Ally because I feel he got criticism, which was deserved a wee bit in terms of some of the results, but the players have to have a part in that as well. I feel sorry for him. I think he deserves more respect than he has had in recent times. He deserves more."

bringthemonjpn: "#bbcscotfootball I think Ally has made this gesture to see if it will inspire Big Boydie to knock in a few goals...we will see...."

Kenny Hodge: "#bbcscotfootball Ally, walk away with your head held high. trouble ahead."

John: "Load of fuss over nothing. McCoist won't go. He's just looking for sympathy vote. #bbcscotfootball"

BBC Scotland's Alasdair Lamont tweeted this picture of the Rangers players boarding the bus at Murray Park to head to Dumfries. However, it is not clear whether Ally McCoist was on board. If the board has rejected his offer to resign, you imagine he must be in charge of the team tonight so as not to be in breach of his contract.

Here's a run-down on Ally McCoist's career as a player, manager...and actor.

Thomas Woods: "I am today firstly saddened that it has come to this, but more over disgusted by the Rangers "fans" treating Ally in the manner that they have . Get the feeling that this storm has just begun to rear its ugly head... More to follow no doubt. #SuperAlly #DontAttendDontSpeakOut"

Iain, Elderslie: "McCoist hasn't just managed the team. He's held what is left of Rangers together over the past years. I fear for the club if he goes!"

Alex Hood, Aberdeen: "I think Coisty has called the Board's bluff on this one. They have been threatening to take action and sack him, now he offers his resignation and it appears they are backtracking. Just shows how weak and clueless they are."

Anonymous: "As much as I idolise him, Ally was inept as a manager. I am however almost inclined to renounce my staunch atheist beliefs to take to praying that McCall and / or Butcher aren't being lined up. I have a great affinity for both - but come on, head over hearts: they have dire records. Billy Davies is realistically the best man for the job."

"I'm shocked that it's happened but some of the decisions that Ally makes leave you baffled. The other week at Alloa, David Templeton, a left winger, we play him on the right. Before the game at Tynecastle we hadn't been losing goals and we change the whole back four. That's not the reason we got beat but some of the things the management team McCoist, McDowell, Durrant do, you just shake your head at times. People are using that as an excuse not to go to games. We'll see if the crowds pick up but I think they are just fed up. It's sad that a Rangers legend has been put into this corner. As a player his record speaks for itself but as a manager, it's been a hard time for the club, he was in a no-win situation. The two leagues that he won he was expected to win."

"I was a wee bit shocked when I found out. I'm going to the game tonight and I was a bit gob-smacked. After reading about not having the Christmas party and stuff, the club is being pulled down to the gutter. He's coming in here and his friends are getting paid off and I think he's got to the stage where enough's enough. I don't think he's coming in here and getting any clue what's happening. It's the same with the fans. We're being pulled from pillar to post. I think this will mean some of the supporters will go also. Ally has been the main man for the last few years and the fans have got behind him. The last few games it's been like a morgue. He's been holding the club together. It's horrendous. I wish him well."

Patrick Sweeny: "Well done Ally McCoist, surprised you stuck it out this long. Rangers loss will be the Nations gain, cant wait to see you on the TV again as a football pundit and please dont ever lose your sense of humour as you are a true Glaswegian Gem! Your loyalty to Rangers was second to none and they should hold their heads in shame once again. You are a footballing legend and deserved better but you will always be a True son of Glasgow. King Kenny, King Ally."

Ross MacPherson: "So has he left already or given notice he won't renew his contract." (As it stands, it's the latter, with the onus being on the board to pay him off or, as they have done, refuse his resignation.)

Keith Bowie: "As a lifelong fan, I'd like to thank Ally for his dedication to Rangers through good and bad. Stuart McCall, come on down!"

John Murray: "Thank god, clueless one dimensional tactics from him and he has went the same way as John Greig, a legend as a player but not cut out to manage the club."

Or, from McCoist's point of view, is this a back-me-or-sack-me move? Again, this seems unlikely, but it puts the ball in the board's court. As things stand, McCoist is to take the team's match in Dumfries this evening.

So, what are we to make of our understanding that the Rangers board will reject Ally McCoist's offer to resign? It would seem, on the face of it, that such a response would be based on Rangers' limited finances, that they could not afford to pay him a year's salary as a pay-off? He is believed to be earning more than £400,000 per annum and is on a 12-month rolling contract.

Or is it the case that the board want him to stay and the reason is not financial? Perhaps they see McCoist as the rallying figure for the support, whose numbers at Ibrox are beginning to dwindle after two years of phenomenal backing in the third and fourth tiers of Scottish football?

Stuart Baird: "Sad day but had to happen, loved him as a player but sadly as a manager been found wanting especially in the cups, like to see Stuart McCall in charge."

Pete: "Sorry to see McCoist go. As a Hearts supporter I thought he was doing a marvellous job to the best of his ability."

Sam Toner, Gibshill: "So that will be another 1.5m of debt replacing the existing set up. Mike Ashley had lunch with Terry Butcher this week so make of that what you will." (And so it begins, Sam...)

Anonymous: "Can't believe people going on about money he may or may not take etc. Man up guys and admit you would not walk away without a penny. Ally is a legend now and forever to the Rangers family."

Iain, London: "Hope Ally stays. He's the glue holding the club together and the current team is a reflection of the board. There's a great manager in Ally but he needs his hands untied. I fear for us now."

Thomas in Swansea: "Will always be a Rangers footballing legend and trustworthy spokesman during a dark period in our history. But...never an effective manager and has made this decision at least a year too late. Wish him well in the future."

Ah, now here's an interesting development... BBC Sport understands Rangers will reject Ally McCoist's letter of resignation. Most of the board are in London for the next 48 hours and no talks are planned.

Davy Gallagher: "@BBCSportScot McCoist has the second biggest wage bill in Scotland yet struggles to win lower leagues. Not a manager. #bbcscotfootball"

Robert Gray: McCoist playing the "I'm unsackable" card is making even more of a farce out of the club #bbcscotfootball

ClubPay Ltd: "Folks getting het up about Ally McCoist's 'resignation' need to remember that tendering thereof does not imply acceptance! #bbcscotfootball"

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Former Rangers midfielder Jorg Albertz gave his reaction to McCoist's offer to resign.

He told BBC Scotland: "I can't judge him as a coach because I've never seen him in action. But it's not been an easy situation for him, you can't compare him with other Rangers managers because of the money situation at the club.

"But I personally think he can motivate a team because I've seen him do that as a player.

"When you talk about Rangers you talk about Ally McCoist, everybody knows what a great player he was, a great goal scorer.''

He was a joy to play with and is a great person to get to know.''