Rangers keeper McGregor faces spell on the bench at Ibrox

Rangers manager Walter Smith has warned Allan McGregor he could be facing an extended spell on the sidelines.

Neil Alexander is poised to continue in goal for the Co-operative Insurance Cup tie with Partick Thistle after Smith insisted the former Ipswich Town player deserved 'a fair crack of the whip'.

McGregor was dropped for Sunday’s 2-1 win over Motherwell at Ibrox after dipping below last season’s outstanding form that had made him a viable contender to become Scotland’s No1.

Sportsmail understands, however, that there are concerns within Ibrox over McGregor’s lifestyle, which has made him regular tabloid fodder, and that Rangers want the player’s focus firmly back on football.

Smith admitted he thought long and hard before demoting the 26-year-old, but offered no guarantee of a rapid return.

'As with any other player, I have to be prepared to make the change,’ said Smith. ‘Neil never let us down in the games he played, so the change has been made.

‘Neil will get a fair crack of the whip. He deserves it. I felt Allan’s form before he got injured last season meant he had earned the right to go back in when he was fit. It was a tough call, there’s no doubt about it.

'With other positions, you can manufacture your way around the group but the goalie is one where I don’t like making a change. Any time I’ve done that, it has not been done lightly.

‘It’s a difficult conundrum with goalkeepers but Allan is a confident lad and I don’t think this will affect that. I hope it doesn’t.’

Smith was hugely impressed with McGregor last term and will see how he responds to being dropped for the first time since Paul le Guen was in charge.

‘Allan will be disappointed not to have been playing, but that’s the type of reaction I’d have expected,’ said Smith.

‘He was great for us last season. Allan set himself one hell of a standard to keep up.
‘It’s like every other player. If you’re a manager and you feel as though the player has not got back to that level yet, then you have a decision to make.

‘I’ve taken into account the fact Allan has had an ankle injury which made him miss the last six to eight weeks of the season.

‘He missed the beginning of pre-season training and was pitched back into the team right before the Kaunas game.

‘That was solely on merit in terms of the way he played last season. I just think he still has to get back to the level he was at before. It is a hell of a standard to get back to,
but I just feel as though he has to reach it.’

Smith will not shuffle his pack too much for Firhill, with only ‘one or two’ changes likely from the side which beat Motherwell.