Rangers Out For Revenge

Inverness midfielder Roy McBain will not be able to make his comeback against Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday. McBain has been out with a groin problem sustained in the Tennent's Scottish Cup tie with Celtic and has not even started back at full training and could be out for a further two weeks. Inverness have beaten Rangers twice in the league this season and are looking for a clean sweep against the Ibrox side. Manager Charlie Christie said: "Roy played very well in our win at Ibrox earlier in the season and it's disappointing as he's an influential player for us."

Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist is "confident" his side will avoid a hat-trick of losses to Inverness. He knows all about how Caley Thistle inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Rangers in Glasgow in mid-October and repeated the feat in late December, winning 2-1 at their Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Those results mean Caley are closing in on a remarkable maximum haul of nine points from the this season's games. On Saturday, however, McCoist insists Rangers will be determined to end that Highland dream and make amends for the losses which were among the most damaging during ex-manager Paul Le Guen's time in charge at Ibrox.

McCoist said: "We know Inverness have caused Rangers no end of problems this season so we certainly won't underestimate them. We are aware of their threat, but given our current form, which has been very good, we have to be confident of getting the win. Without a doubt our aim is to secure second place as quickly as possible and that means we must keep winning every week."

Rangers are still in a good position to finish as runners-up to Celtic, as they have a seven-point advantage over third-placed Aberdeen. Since McCoist and Walter Smith returned to the club in January, Rangers have seen their results and performances improve. McCoist said: "We've had a great reaction since coming in but we want that form to continue and ensure no-one lets up. Looking back at successful times in Rangers' history, Ibrox has always been like a fortress and a very difficult place for teams to come. In recent times, however, the opposition have not feared coming to play us at home and have even said so publicly beforehand. Hopefully that is changing again because we have done well at Ibrox recently and it's something that we're working hard to achieve."