Rae waits for Rangers axe

Rangers midfielder Gavin Rae skippered the team to a win over Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Cup on Thursday but is bracing himself for a return to the bench against Celtic tomorrow.

With the Glasgow giants guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages before the visit of the Serbian side, manager Paul Le Guen changed his entire midfield, which meant the former Dundee player made only his third start of the season.

The 29-year-old has featured mainly from the bench this season, making Le Guen’s starting 11 only in two CIS Insurance Cup ties against Dunfermline and St Johnstone.

Rae was handed the armband before the game against Partizan and, with the help of an Alan Hutton goal, guided Rangers to top spot in Group A and a subsequent last-32 tie against Hapoel Tel Aviv.

However, the midfielder is expecting to return to the bench for the Old Firm game at the weekend.

Rae told PA Sport: “It was amazing to be asked to be captain of a club like this, especially in a UEFA Cup game.

“And, obviously, I was absolutely delighted to get the result. As for keeping my place for Sunday, I don’t know about that.

“There were a lot of changes on Thursday, the whole midfield from the last few games was left out. I don’t anticipate he will leave them out on Sunday, they could all come straight back in, but, if I am involved, I will be happy.”

The Ibrox side need to take the opportunity to cut Celtic’s 16-point lead at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League if they are to have any realistic chance of catching their rivals.

But Rae is adamant the title race is never over before the turn of the year.

He said: “You never know. It is not Christmas yet, so we just need to keep going, plugging away and you never know what might happen. I think the team is confident of beating Celtic.

“We are at home and have to play as well as we can and I think we can do it. It will be tough but I think we can get a result.”