Rangers manager Ally McCoist has warned those who are lining up to have a kick at the crisis-hit Ibrox club that they won’t be down for long.

McCoist was speaking after watching his makeshift Rangers side fail to lighten the ever-darkening storm clouds gathering over Ibrox as they lost 2-1 to Hearts in what was their third successive home defeat.

With player cuts looming large, Rangers fielded an unfamiliar line-up made up of several youngsters and took a first half-lead through Steven Davis before Ian Black and Jamie Hammill gave Hearts the win.

The defeat stretched Celtic’s lead at the top to 21 points despite their 17-game winning run in the league coming to an end after a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen.

In recent weeks Celtic manager Neil Lennon called for Rangers to be retrospectively stripped of their “tainted titles and trophies” won between 2001 and 2010 if found guilty of “financial doping”.

That barb was a reference to the tribunal into Rangers’ use of Employee Benefit Trusts between 2001 and 2010, which could land the Ibrox club with a £75m tax bill.

With Rangers at perhaps their lowest ebb in their 140-year history McCoist hit out at those he feels have been revelling in Rangers’ demise.

McCoist said: “There’s probably one or two people out there enjoying it. I would suggest to them to have a right good kick just now because we won’t be where we are for long.”

Meanwhile, Rangers’ administrators said they expect to announce an agreement on job cuts at the club today.

Duff and Phelps turned down a players’ union offer of substantial salary deferrals on Friday saying a higher level of cost base would hinder the sale of the club.