Rangers FC have confirmed that assistant Ally McCoist will take over from manager Walter Smith when the latter stands down in the summer.

The 48-year-old McCoist, a Rangers player between 1983 and 1998 and the Scottish Premier League's all-time top scorer with 291 goals, said: "It was an honour to pull on the Rangers jersey during my playing career. I have enjoyed working with Walter, Kenny McDowall, Ian Durrant and the backroom team as assistant manager and to be confirmed as the next Rangers manager is a dream come true."

Smith has won nine Scottish titles and five Scottish Cups in two spells at Ibrox, but the 62-year-old will step down at the end of the current campaign. Rangers meet Sporting Clube de Portugal in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 on Thursday, with the scores level at 1-1 following last week's first leg in Glasgow.