Suddenly, in the months since he hung up his boots, McCoist has become the hottest property in sports television. The quiz-playing pundit, with more cheek than you'll find in a lap-dancing club, has discovered that what he wants is at his command these days.

This autumn McCoist will appear on prime-time television on both BBC1 and ITV. How many of sports television's celebrities have achieved that in the same season?

Certainly not Des Lynam, who had to cut his BBC ties when he moved to ITV. And McCoist tops off the achievement by getting his own programme on a digital channel.

BBC1 have signed McCoist to a new one-year contract to continue the highly-successful partnership with John Parrott that has breathed fresh life into the ratings of A Question of Sport.

At the same time, he has signed with ITV to be the Alan Hansen to Des's Gary Lineker - Terry Venables reprises the Trevor Brooking role, of course - when they launch their unnamed Saturday-evening successor to Match of the Dayon August 18, kickoff day for the Premier League.

McCoist will team again with Bob Wilson on Tuesdays on ITV, when Champions Leagueresumes, for their programme of highlights and plans are being laid for him to present other programmes on ITV Sport, the six-hour, evening channel which premiers on August 11, the evening Nationwide League football returns.

Brian Barwick, controller of sport for ITV and ITV Sport, will probably lock his favourite Scot into a dark room somewhere next winter until he agrees to sever his BBC connection but, while A Question of Sportsits high in the popularity table, McCoist's management are not going to want to lose the profile it gains him away from the traditional sporting audiences.

His own popularity with television executives has been growing since he chattered and quipped his way through France 98. Now research commissioned by ITV reveals that his appeal crosses all boundaries.

Whether it is on Sauchiehall Street or Coronation Street, he is every mother's favourite son and every bloke's perfect drinking buddy. That point was certainly emphasised last week when his last manager, Kilmarnock's Bobby Williamson, spoke in glowing terms of his former charge.

'He'll be a big miss to football, definitely. On and off the park, Ally was larger than life,' said Williamson. 'People thought he was only here because he's a joker. Sure, he had his moments of being funny - but he was very serious about his football,' he added.

What is becoming abundantly clear is that ITV are very serious about Ally and know that there is a marketing potential that surrounds him to strengthen the dawning of their new football coverage.