Rangers unlikely heroes in final assault

The huge banner displayed at recent Rangers games screams: "This is your chance. This is your time. Become legends."

Football fans of every hue are prone to hyperbole when silverware is in sight. But tonight, in the City of Manchester Stadium against Zenit St Petersburg, Walter Smith's side have the opportunity to lift not just a European trophy – only the second in Rangers' history – but to keep them on track for an unprecedented quadruple.

Up to 100,000 Rangers fans are expected in Manchester by kick-off time. That alone tells you how much football means in Glasgow. Added hunger comes from not lifting a European trophy for 32 years, since the vanquished opponents in the Cup-Winners' Cup final were another team from Russia, Dynamo Moscow.

The enormity of what Smith could achieve this season, just 16 months after being brought back to the club to rectify the shambolic situation left by Paul Le Guen's short, ill-fated reign, was still sinking in yesterday. With 63 games played already this season – 18 in Europe – he has had little time to dwell on it. Unlike Zenit, whose own league mandarins cleared their fixture list to allow them weeks to prepare, Rangers have had to keep ploughing on, despite multiple injuries.

But speaking yesterday, Smith said the achievement in merely reaching the final was beginning to dawn on him. "The European competition isn't one that we thought we would get this far in so it's a nice surprise for us and hopefully we will do well," he said.

"You start to think about the final and realise just how much it means to everyone. It starts to take over everything else and it has done for the last few days. We had a difficult weekend [winning in an Scottish Premier League game against Dundee United that the SPL would not postpone, despite requests] and had to concentrate on that match but now that we are here we will try to win this trophy."

But can they? It's the €6m question. Zenit have been stylish, magnificent at times, no more so than in their semi-final against Bayern Munich, who they tore apart 4-0 in the second leg.

Rangers, by contrast, while beating Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina since dropping down from the Champions League, have been plagued by criticism of being "ugly", "rubbish" and "boring", and of playing "anti-football".

Among those defending them yesterday was Zenit's coach Dick Advocaat, a former Rangers manager. "I have great respect for what Rangers have achieved with so little money," he said. Advocaat reigned in a time of relative plenty. Smith has put together a team for less than £10m and has had to sell arguably his best footballer, Alan Hutton, to balance the books.

Advocaat added: "Everyone says that Zenit are favourites, and I'm comfortable with that, but you can't get to the Uefa Cup final, win the Scottish League Cup, get to the Scottish Cup final and be in contention for the league without being a good team. Rangers deserve respect."

He does not expect Smith to change his 4-1-4-1 defensive European approach, with a holding midfielder in Brahim Hemdani and a lone front man, most probably Jean-Claude Darcheville. "There is no reason for Rangers to change," he said. Smith himself said: "It would be folly to go away from a successful formula." He hinted that attacking will become the priority later on: "We'll try to win the game, from a successful base."

In other words, expect more of the same but don't discount surprises. What seems set in stone is a back four of Kirk Broadfoot, Carlos Cuellar, David Weir and Sasa Papac. Similarly, Hemdani is a gimme for a European match, and Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson will staff central midfield, as long as Thomson, who has a foot problem, passes a fitness test as expected.

Lee McCulloch has been out since an Old Firm derby on 16 April but is fit. He is an outlet on the left who can also play up front. He should start.

The final place in the team is likely to be given to Steve Davis, on loan from Fulham, but Steven Whittaker and Nacho Novo both have claims. If neither start they are likely to see action off the bench as might the prolific but enigmatic striker Kris Boyd, especially if the game goes to extra-time.

Penalties cannot be ruled out. Both managers said they had no faith in practising for such an eventuality. When your time comes, it comes regardless.

Hitting the heights: Blue half of Glasgow's finest hours campaigning in Europe

1960 Rangers reached the semi-finals of the European Cup for the first time after beating Sparta Rotterdam in the quarter-finals. Their opponents were Eintracht Frankfurt. Rangers were comprehensively beaten by the Germans, losing 12-4 on aggregate.

1961 Rangers became the first British team to make it to a European final. They beat Wolves to reach the inaugural European Cup-Winners' Cup final but came up short against Fiorentina, who beat them 4-1 on aggregate, the only time the final was played over two legs.

1967 Rangers enjoyed a brilliant run to achieve their second European CupWinners' Cup final under their manager Scot Symon. But again they fell at the last hurdle, losing 1-0 in extra time to Bayern Munich in Nuremberg. It was the German side's first European trophy.

1972 Rangers only European success. They beat Dynamo Moscow 3-2 in Barcelona in a thrilling Cup-Winners' Cup final, taking a three-goal lead then almost surrendering it. The pitch invasion after the final whistle earned the club a two-year ban from Europe.

1993 Under a format in which the two group winners went straight to the European Cup final, Rangers were a goal away from Europe's highest stage. They were held 0-0 by CSKA Moscow at Ibrox, meaning that the eventual winners Marseilles topped the group.

The road to Manchester

RANGERS

Champions League Group stages: Third.

Round of 32: bt Panathinaikos 1-0 (agg).

Round of 16: bt Werder Bremen 2-1 (agg).

Quarter-final: bt Sporting Lisbon 2-0 (agg).

Semi-final: bt Fiorentina on pens, 0-0 (agg).

ZENIT

First round: bt Standard Liège 4-1 (agg).

Group stages: Third. Round of 32: bt Villarreal on away goals, 2-2 (agg).

Round of 16: bt Marseilles on away goals, 3-3 (agg).

Quarter-final: bt Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 (agg).

Semi-final: bt Bayern Munich 5-1 (agg).

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