Smith sounds the Rangers battle cry after Cuellar blow

Stalwart defender Carlos Cuellar will miss the season opener after the Spanish centre-half picked up a calf strain in Saturday’s stuttering 2-1 friendly win over Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park.

In the thick of it: Carlos Cuellar tangles with Raith's Mark Campbell in the first half before the Spaniard succumbed to injury (below)

Carlos Cuellar

While skipper Barry Ferguson is guaranteed to miss the early part of the campaign following ankle surgery, Smith will have Kevin Thomson and Lee McCulloch — both left out of the trip to Kirkcaldy — available for this crucial European qualifier.

‘I think we’re all looking forward to getting into competitive games — the sooner, the better,’ said the Ibrox manager.

‘Everybody is pleased to get pre-season done with. You are eager to get started. The biggest worry in pre-season is injury to a key player or two, and we’ve had that. I’ve no doubt that the sheer number of matches Carlos Cuellar played last season is a contributing factor in the niggling injuries he is getting at the moment. 

‘But there’s no use in us crying — we just get on with the game. We’ve lost Barry, too, but it’s up to us to cover for that.

‘Barry is important to us, nobody can get away from that. He is our captain and has been the hub of everything we have been doing in midfield, not just in my time here but in recent seasons.

‘So, of course, we’ll miss him. But how much would Barry Ferguson cost in the transfer market? There is no point in us rushing in — we wouldn’t have the money to get a like-for-like player, anyway, so we won’t panic.

‘We must make sure we have enough players to cover that area. As long as we don’t get a run of injuries to the likes of McCulloch and Thomson, injuries that would deplete us even more, we can add to our midfield — but only when we think it’s the right player.

‘Not being able to replace like for like means we’ll make an adjustment to how we play. Like any club, when you have a really important player, sometimes it’s impossible to cover for him when you lose him.

‘It’s vital we have McCulloch and Thomson back for Wednesday. Lee has a throat infection, so he should be OK while Kevin has a wee niggle in his knee but he’ll be fine.

‘When we look at our midfield from last season, we’ve lost Barry already. When you start to lose others, like Thomson and McCulloch, plus Steve Davis being away at the same time, that’s practically the whole midfield from last year missing for the game against Raith.

‘Now, two of them will be back for the Kaunas match. It has been disappointing not to have them but we’ll welcome them back.

‘As a manager, you always have expectations, even for a friendly. I was disappointed by the performance against Raith but, when you look at the changes forced upon us, my expectations are maybe higher than they should be for a game of that type.’ 

To the rescue: substitute Novo gets Rangers back on level terms

Kirk Broadfoot stepped into Cuellar’s position after 28 minutes, with Christian Dailly taking over at right-back, although Smith concedes that both players are interchangeable in those positions.

Up front is where Rangers really have options, although the manager — who used Kris Boyd, Jean-Claude Darcheville, Kenny Miller, Kyle Lafferty, Daniel Cousin and Nacho Novo during 90 minutes at Stark’s Park — says he has already decided on his attacking line-up for Wednesday.

‘After a break, the forward position is the hardest to get back into gear, in terms of finishing and sharpness required for competitive football,’ added Smith. ‘With the number of strikers we have, we’ve had to play quite a few. But we are reasonably happy with how they’re shaping up.

‘I know, in my own head, who’ll start against Kaunas.’