Boyd to stay at Rangers, says Naismith, as Cardiff, Fulham and Hull City eye bid

Cardiff City are pondering a further bid for Boyd after a £2.5million offer was thrown out last week.

Fulham and Hull City are also monitoring the 24-year-old's position after Rangers manager Walter Smith recently signed forwards Kenny Miller, Andrius Velicka and Kyle Lafferty for a combined fee in excess of £6m.

Making a difference: Steven Naismith took time out from his rehabilitation following major knee surgery to present a £75,000 cheque to good causes yesterday on behalf of the Rangers Charity Foundation

Naismith, currently rehabilitating from knee ligament damage, has known Boyd since their days at Kilmarnock and hopes they stay Rangers team-mates for the foreseeable future.

'You want to keep guys who have scored the amount of goals big Kris has,' said Naismith, who yesterday helped to promote a £75,000 donation by the Rangers Charity Foundation.

'I'm pleased the club has turned the offer down and, hopefully, he will be here for many years to come.

'Kris didn't play as much as he would have liked last season. He made that known and I think it's normal that other clubs would take a chance and see if Rangers would be prepared to sell him.

'Only he knows what's going to happen. Maybe the manager will change the formation and have Boydy up there every week. If that happens, he's going to be happy.

'I don't expect him to be in any rush to make a decision. He will probably see how things go when he comes back.'

Boyd is due back for pre-season training tomorrow, with Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale yesterday claiming the Championship club were waiting for his situation to be clarified.

'Walter Smith is back over the next couple of days and will talk to the player,' said Ridsdale, who is pursuing four other striker targets.

'That is when we will know for certain whether we can make further progress. Our aim is to add the firepower that was missing last season and make a good push for promotion to the Premier League.'

Naismith, meanwhile, believes Smith has invested well so far this summer.

'I met big Kyle Lafferty when he was signing for the club and he is some size,' said Naismith.

'It doesn't take a genius to work out that he is much taller than anyone else here and will win his share of headers.

'Kenny Miller does a lot of running and really hassles defenders. He's a proven talent with Scotland. And Andrius Velicka is a player who is a bit of an all-rounder. He's big, strong and scored good goals at Hearts.'

Meanwhile BelgianN champions Standard Liege have joined the chase to sign Ibrox misfit Thomas Buffel.