Queen of the South manager Gordon Chisholm`s squad is in pretty good shape for the Co-operative Insurance Cup clash with Rangers.

The only players who will definitely miss out are long-term injury victims Neil Scally and Craig Barr, who are both still a couple of weeks away from full fitness.

Chisholm said: "It will be a big night for us all on Wednesday and a very special occasion. They will naturally start favourites but we ran them close in the cup final at Hampden and I'd love to think we could go one stage better this time around.

"If they underperform and we can up our game, who knows what might happen. We've got nothing to lose but all to gain, so the pressure will be on Rangers.

"Rangers have loads of experience in their camp but we too have a good dressing room. We may have a smaller squad than last season but the boys have all gelled well and are buoyant for the big game.

"We're hard to beat in our own back yard and Rangers will already recognise that. Walter Smith and Ally McCoist are both shrewd managers and they'll know not to take us lightly."

Rangers boss Smith has called for referees to exercise common sense after their goalless draw at Kilmarnock hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

But he believes the performance of match official Steve Conroy at Rugby Park on Saturday was a one-off which is unlikely to be repeated.

Both camps agreed red cards for Pedro Mendes and Manuel Pascali were harsh while Smith and opposite number Jim Jefferies were both baffled by the number of bookings in what was far from a dirty encounter after seven other players were cautioned.

Asked whether he would like to see referees adopt a more common sense approach to games in general, the Rangers boss replied: "Of course we would."

He added: "From previous experience of having Steve Conroy as a referee, he was never like that in other games so I don't know why he was like that in the weekend game.

"In other games he has always had the confidence to referee the game in a decent manner. Some of us have a bad day - managers included - and that might have happened to him.

"But it's not something I've noticed as being prevalent in the other games we have had."

Smith was sent to the stand following an angry exchange with Kilmarnock players he mistakenly thought were trying to encourage the referee to dismiss Mendes.

He is still waiting to hear from the Scottish Football Association about a potential four-match ban as a result of the outburst.

Smith will be hit with an automatic two-match ban if found guilty of misconduct by the SFA, which could be extended after he was handed the same punishment following a Scottish Cup tie against Hibernian in 2008.

If a four-game ban is imposed, then Smith will miss the season's first Old Firm derby against Celtic on October 4 and three other fixtures, which will be dependent on their progression in the League Cup.

"We've not heard from them yet so I don't know whether that will be the case or not," he said.

"I'll just need to wait until we receive notification of what's to happen."

Next up for Rangers is Queen of the South in the Co-operative Insurance Cup, the team they narrowly defeated in the 2008 Scottish Cup final.

Despite being regarded as the least illustrious of the three domestic trophies, Smith insists their desire to reclaim the silverware from last season's winners Celtic is as strong as ever.

He said: "The cup ties have an importance. If there is a trophy to be won, you want to try to do that.

"We reached the final last year and lost to Celtic so we want to try to get back there again this year and that's what we will be attempting to do.

"We face a tough game, there is no doubt about that. We played Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup final the season before last and they were excellent in that game.

"Going down to their place, in a televised game, we know their approach to the game will be good and we have to try to match that."