UEFA Cup defeat unthinkable for Rangers

Rangers striker Dado Prso (L) heads the ball. Rangers play host to Portuguese side Maritimo and manager Alex McLeish knows failure to overturn the one goal deficit from the first leg is likely to signal the end of his Ibrox career.

Rangers play host to Portuguese side Maritimo in the UEFA Cup and manager Alex McLeish knows failure to overturn the one goal deficit from the first leg is likely to signal the end of his Ibrox career.

Already knocked out of the Champions League and trailing Celtic by five points after only six games in the Scottish Premier League, the pressure has been building on the Gers boss.

A win in Thursday's first round, second leg UEFA Cup tie would secure a place in the lucrative group stages of the competition, thought to be worth around five million pounds, and would at least provide McLeish with some much needed breathing space.

Defeat however is unthinkable for the Ibrox club who are around 72 million pounds in debt and need the cash boost qualification would bring.

Maritimo skipper Mitchell van der Gaag, who played under McLeish at Motherwell, is not in the mood to do his old boss any favours and hopes his side can cause the upset which would almost certainly cost him his job.

"I would always like to see Alex McLeish do well - but just not against us. Every manager faces pressure. It happens even at a small club like ours. We lost the first game of the season and the coach was sacked right away," said Van der Gaag.

"I am confident we can go to Glasgow and show the form we did in the first match. I think we surprised Rangers a bit and the pressure is all on them."

One person who is confident McLeish will survive the barrage of criticism directed towards him is Dick Advocaat -- his predecessor at Ibrox.

"If you work at the top level then the pressure is all part of the job. The expectation at both the Old Firm teams are so high and they have to win every game. But Alex can handle the pressure, I have no doubt about that," said Advocaat.

McLeish has at least received some good news on the injury front.

Croatian striker Dado Prso and defenders Maurice Ross and Craig Moore were missing from the 2-0 win at Dundee because of injury but all three are likely to be ready for the vital European tie.

The Rangers manager told the club's website: "Dado has still to rejoin training but we believe he will be OK and he has a great reputation in Europe, so his availability will be big bonus.

"We think Craig will be OK too. He has been in his bed all weekend but we expect that he will be fit for selection. Maurice Ross will also be available to me after recovering from his groin problem. So, overall, I'm pleased to have some more options."

Maritimo, who lead Rangers courtesy of Gustavo Manduca's goal in the first leg, have demonstrated they will be no push overs by their impressive start in the Portuguese Superliga.

A 2-1 home win over Boavista on Saturday, with goals from defender Tonel and Brazilian forward Alan, means the Madeira-based side have nine points from their opening four games and are only one point behind leaders Benfica.

The Maritimo manager, Mariano Barreto, is certainly not worried about facing Rangers at Ibrox and hopes they can win the tie in style.

He said: "We want to impose our style and we will also fight a lot so as to win the ball and launch attacks. We will try to put on a show and win playing good football.

"It's a shame about the result against Rangers here. For me, 5-2 would have been a fairer result. We will have to go there and really battle."