Victory would have allowed the Hoops to clinch the trophy at the home of their greatest rivals - the first time since such a scenario would have taken place since Rangers won the championship at Parkhead in 1999.

However, the Hoops' celebrations were put on hold as the beleaguered Scottish champions claimed victory on a day when three players saw red and Celtic boss Neil Lennon was sent to the stand.

McCoist said: "I know you won't believe me but I didn't want to win the game to stop Celtic winning the title.

"I'm not interested in that to be honest with you.

"I wanted to win the game because we were playing our biggest rivals in one of the biggest fixtures of the season. There was no more pressure, no more desire.

"I've been really fortunate to have been involved in so many Old Firm games and it would be wrong of me to tell you that I wanted to win one more than another because that's not the case.

"I've wanted to win every one as much as the previous one and the next one."

According to McCoist, if there was any extra motivation to win this game, it was the chance to reward supporters for the way they have rallied around since the club was plunged into administration on February 14.

He added: "That's what we wanted more than anything.

"In the current times, when we are having a struggle with one thing and another, we all feel that our support has been absolutely magnificent in their support of the club and the team in what is a traumatic and very difficult time.

"We really, really wanted to win that game for the support today. Also for the players as individuals and as a team, but we wanted to win for the supporters.

"We didn't want to stop Celtic doing this, that and the next thing - we wanted to win the game for ourselves and the support, who deserved it. Hopefully they will be going home happy."

Administrators Duff and Phelps are keen to find a buyer for Rangers, with four bidders having already expressed an interest in taking over the club so far.

And McCoist believes today's battle between the Glasgow giants can only help the club's search for a new owner.

He said: "Regardless of the result today, the welfare of the club is the most important thing by a country mile.

"I would say, if there are any potential buyers watching today, it would be difficult to argue anything other than they would be impressed by what they saw, in terms of the team, the game, the stadium, the support and the club in general.

"I would be very hopeful that today would be a positive step in somebody stepping forward to take the club forward."

Celtic were reduced to nine men when Cha Du-Ri was sent off for a foul on Lee Wallace on the edge of the box, before Victor Wanyama was dismissed for a challenge on Steven Whittaker, with Lennon also sent to the stand at half-time.

Rangers then saw their own numbers reduced when referee Calum Murray sent off Carlos Bocanegra for a foul on Georgios Samaras, before skipper Scott Brown converted from the resultant penalty.

Lennon was unhappy with the performance of the match official afterwards, claiming Cha should not have been shown a red card, while describing Wanyama's dismissal as "borderline" and his own punishment as "a joke."

Asked for his own thoughts on the match's flashpoints, McCoist said: "The game has changed. The problem is that we probably need to change with it.

"I'm not saying it has necessarily changed for the better because unfortunately nowadays there is no such thing as a foul - it's either a yellow or red card.

"The referee is only applying the laws the way he sees it.

"Did he (Cha) prevent a goalscoring opportunity? Probably. Is it a soft sending-off? Probably.

"Did Wanyama go in with a two-footed tackle? Probably. Did he set out to harm the player? Definitely not in my opinion.

"With Bocanegra, is he last man preventing a goal-scoring opportunity? Again, probably.

"I think the referee certainly has a case to say he was right in every decision but the reason managers and coaches probably get a little bit upset about it is just because the game has definitely changed.

"In my opinion, not really for the better. It's difficult now just to see a free-kick because there is something else involved, a yellow card or a red card, and I don't necessarily think that's good for the game."

Sone Aluko opened the scoring when he grabbed the only goal of the first half, before Andy Little netted within seconds of coming off the bench and Wallace claimed Rangers' third.

Celtic then mounted a late comeback with Brown's penalty, before Thomas Rogne added to their tally in injury time, but it was not enough to avoid defeat.

McCoist said: "The win was the most pleasing thing for me.

"In what has been a bizarre and strange season all round with one thing or another, I would argue that our two best performances of the season have been against Celtic at home.

"It's been well-documented that it's been a strange season but today's performance and the performance against Celtic in the first game here have been real high points of a difficult season."