McLeish puts his faith in Moore

Rangers manager Alex McLeish believes Craig Moore’s strength of character will overcome his hamstring injury ahead of tomorrow’s crucial Champions League tie against FC Copenhagen.

The Australian international is struggling to recover his fitness for the game in Denmark which will decide the Light Blues’ fate in the lucrative competition.

Rangers are facing an uphill battle in the Parken Stadium, with the Danes holding the psychological advantage of an away goal from the 1-1 draw at Ibrox.

And McLeish concedes throwing his experienced central defender into the game will be a gamble.

He said: “Craig could be doing with another week to build up the hamstring because that’s the normal timescale.

“I know that he wants to do it for Rangers and that’s more important to me.

“It may be a gamble. He may break down in the first 10 minutes, but we are prepared to take that gamble.

“He won’t be letting anyone down if that happens because he is putting Rangers before himself.

“So it’s going to be between me and the doctor and, if he gives me the news I want to hear after Craig’s fitness test, then I will play him.”

Playmaker Ronald de Boer is expected to be fit for the game after an Achilles problem.

Gers defender Fernando Ricksen believes fellow Dutchman Michael Mols can be the difference between success and failure in Denmark.

The Ibrox striker has scored four goals already this season, including two in the 5-2 win over Hibernian at the weekend.

And Ricksen is confident Mols can play his part against the Danish champions.

Ricksen told Rangers World: “He is a fantastic asset to the team and it’s unbelievable how he plays at times.

“He is such an important player for Rangers and he scores a lot of important goals for us. Hopefully, he can score again (tomorrow night).

“It will be a massive game for the club but, the way we play, we can definitely score goals over there.

“If we play as well as we can, we can get a good result.”