Seven was heaven but don't expect repeat, warns McCoist

Interim manager Peter Houston declared he never wanted to be boss at the Tannadice club after that humiliating defeat, his second match in charge of United which came just days after Craig Levein left to take up the managership of Scotland. Returning to Ibrox for the first time since that battering, even with recent good form, United are surely underdogs by a mile.

Not so, say Rangers' management team. Speaking ahead of the clash, Rangers' cup "champion" Ally McCoist dismissed the result in December, when Kris Boyd, pictured, scored five and passed Henrik Larsson's SPL scoring record, as "freakish" and "a bit strange", and pointed out that the game might well have swung the other way when Damian Casalinuovo pulled it back to 3-1 in the opening minute of the second half.

"They were right back in it then," said McCoist, "and if they had got the next goal we might not have won the game."

Kenny Miller's red card shortly afterwards encouraged that view at the time, but Steven Whittaker came on and put Rangers back on track.

McCoist said: "That was the important goal, it gave us the breathing space and we kicked on from there. But there was a period when I really felt that if they scored the next we might not have won.

"So though it ended up a resounding victory and a fantastic result, it just wasn't as clear cut as the scoreline would suggest.

"I definitely think the result will be a bit different this time. There's no doubt about that. The United boys were really hurt by that result and they will be wanting to make amends and put up a far better performance."

David Goodwillie was one of half a dozen United players spotlighted by McCoist as possible threats: "I like Goodwillie. He's certainly still young, but he has outstanding potential. He can create a bit and he can finish." McCoist's task in speaking to the press was clearly to point out to the Rangers support that today's match might require patience from the home fans. A follower of the Turf, in this Cheltenham Festival week McCoist knows that sometimes previous form goes out of the window in football as it does in horse racing.

"Usually our games against United are tough," said McCoist. "They are good side, they work hard, they have a good blend with big lads at the back who are difficult to play against, they are a threat at set plays, so it will be tough game."

From Ibrox and Murray Park, all the sounds emanating are of a fan-soothing nature. Management and players alike seem happy to get on with the job, even in the bizarre circumstances in which they collectively find themselves, working out of contract and unsure as to who the new owners will be or what they will require in personnel terms.

Being "in charge" for the cups will continue "until he (Walter Smith] tells me otherwise," said McCoist, and it has given the club's highest-ever goalscorer "a taste for coaching and management," as he is clearly loving the work with Smith and the squad.

McCoist has long stated his intention to be a manager, and is taking his final UEFA coaching certificates. So will he manage Rangers?

"It's an impossible question to answer when the club is in the process of hopefully being bought over by people who will take the club forward. I absolutely love doing what I'm doing at the moment. Someday I would like to manage, there's nothing wrong with me saying that, but where it will be, nobody knows at this stage."

McCoist suggested that the proof of the harmonious relationships away from the issue of the club's sale is that both Majid Bougherra and Nacho Novo have stated in recent days that they want to stay at Ibrox, the former firmly rejecting all talk that he will walk away in the summer after playing for Algeria in the World Cup.

"It gives you a sense of the feeling that the boys have for each other and the club," said McCoist. "I have always said it is a big, big thing to be happy at your work. It doesn't necessarily guarantee success but it definitely helps."

Novo will sit down with his agent and the club over the next fortnight to iron out his future. At 30, the Spaniard could be signing the last deal of his career, one that he personally would like to ensure him staying on at Rangers, albeit with a greater wage.

"I would love to stay at Ibrox," said Novo. "It's my sixth year here and everyone has been treating me very well. I have good relationship with everybody, but you never know what is going to happen.

"There is a good atmosphere with lots of jokes, and we get some good laughs in the dressing room. It's also a strong team, and the boss is not looking at the problems in the club, he is just concentrating on the play.

"The best years of my career have been at Ibrox and I wouldn't change that for anything. I hope to stay."

Novo played in December's 7-1 match but did not score. Earlier in his career, however, he regularly rattled them in against Dundee United for Dundee and Rangers, including two in a previous 7-1 thrashing of United by Rangers in the League Cup semi-final in February, 2005.

Another brace for the Spaniard today might just confirm his signature on the new deal, as well as putting Rangers a major step closer to the treble. But as McCoist stated, it will not be easy.