Fulham's loan Ranger Davis offers Ibrox boss Walter first refusal if Cottagers agree to sale

The Northern Ireland international has been an outstanding success in Glasgow after arriving from relegation-threatened Fulham.

And now he has promised Walter Smith, who wants to sign the £3million-rated 23-year-old on a permanent deal, first refusal if the London club agree to a sale.

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Blackburn Rovers have joined Middlesbrough in the queue of admirers and if Premiership sides back their interest with hard cash, Rangers could find themselves in an auction that would suit Fulham.

Davis, who left Aston Villa for Craven Cottage last July, made it perfectly clear yesterday that his future may not be decided until after a holiday break at the end of a draining season that has featured fighting the drop in the Premiership in England and chasing four trophies in Scotland.

But he gave Rangers fans hope that he could be here beyond the summer ahead of tonight's crucial SPL showdown at Celtic Park.

"The most important thing for me is to see the season through first," said Davis, who is sure to be given a key role for Rangers with Kevin Thomson suspended. "We're still involved in three competitions at the moment and that's what I need to focus on.

"I wanted to come to Rangers, play games and enjoy myself and that's exactly what has happened. Once the season finishes, I will go away, have a break and hopefully sort out my future after that. What I can say is that I will listen to Rangers first. If they are an option, then it's something I will consider.

"I grew up a Rangers fan and I have enjoyed my time here. It has been a good time for everyone and the fact we're in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup proves we are a massive club.

"The manager is very well respected and it was good to read that he wants to keep me. I have enjoyed working with Walter Smith. I haven't really thought about things too much yet, though, and I suppose a lot will depend on what happens with Fulham."

Outstanding in Lisbon last week, Davis knows Rangers may need to replicate that performance tonight as they look for the three points that would represent a giant stride towards a first title in three years.

"We had big performance against Sporting last week," added Davis. "It was probably the best I've been involved in since I came here.

"We showed we are a good footballing side and there's no doubt we have taken a lot of confidence from that result and performance. It will take a similar performance against Celtic if we are to take anything from Wednesday night's game.

"Things have gone well for me since I joined but there's still a lot of football to be played and it's now a case of seeing it through. This will be my first experience of Parkhead but it's one I am looking forward to. Hopefully, we will come out on top.

"I don't think we can go into the game thinking: 'Well, we don't need to win.' Old Firm games are always massive and they always mean something. There's no doubt, however, that this one is huge just because of what is at stake for both teams.

"It's important we get a result. There is no doubt a draw would suit us better than Celtic, but you don't go into any game looking for a draw. We will be going to Parkhead looking to win. But it is going to be tough - we know that."

Davis grew up near Ballymena supporting Rangers but he has never visited Parkhead.

He added: "The last game at Ibrox was my first taste of the Old Firm atmosphere. Obviously, I had watched plenty of games on TV but that was my first live experience. It was 100 miles an hour to start off with but I was told it would be like that.

"We didn't really settle until the second half when we got the ball down and started to play. I expect it will be the same on Wednesday. I don't think you really enjoy Old Firm games because they are so frantic and they are usually decided by the odd goal. If you win, you can enjoy it afterwards.

"It will be a massive result if we do get the three points but it won't be over because we have a lot of difficult away games still to play."

It remains a matter of bemusement why Fulham manager Roy Hodgson allowed Rangers to sign Davis on loan on January 31 - and the player feels the same way.

"I don't know why Fulham let me go when they did," he said. "Before I came here, I had started almost every league game but then there was a change in manager.

"I was out of the team and, when I heard of the interest from Rangers, I went to see the new boss. I didn't think Hodgson would agree to the move but he did and I'm so glad I came. I have been able to add to the quality that was already here and things have worked out well."