Walter Smith is not in need of a rapid conclusion to Jelavic chase

WHEN you have waited for two years to buy a player, a few more days is no great inconvenience. Walter Smith is sure his patience will be richly rewarded if Rangers are successful in their pursuit of Croatian international striker Nikica Jelavic.

Smith expects to learn by the start of next week whether a deal can be agreed with Rapid Vienna which would allow Rangers to make Jelavic the first player they have signed for a transfer fee since August 2008.

Martin Bain, the Ibrox club's chief executive, was back in Glasgow yesterday after holding talks in the Austrian capital with Rapid on Thursday.

Jelavic's club are still holding out for more than the 3.5 million Rangers are believed to have offered them for the 24-year-old, but Smith remains hopeful agreement can be reached.

"He is a player who can get a level of goals for us," said Smith. "His touch and control have improved every season he has played and he seems confident he can do a good job. We have watched him for a wee while now and hopefully it can come to fruition. We are still negotiating with them but once we do agree, we still have to agree a deal with the player.

"Martin is still in discussions with Rapid Vienna. They will go on over the weekend and hopefully we'll get a resolution after that. They want him to play in their domestic fixture against Sturm Graz this weekend and that is one of the reasons for the delay. You never know with these things but we have a degree of optimism after Martin went out there."

It remains to be seen whether Rapid, who were paired with Aston Villa in yesterday's draw for the Europa League play-off round, will be prepared to part with their leading scorer who is under contract until 2012. If Rapid make the group stage, Jelavic would be ineligible to play for Rangers in the Champions League this season.

Smith will also make up his mind next week whether to sign Honduran international forward Georgie Welcome. The 25-year-old, who played for his country at the World Cup finals in South Africa, has been on trial at Murray Park this week.

"He has had a couple of days training with us but it is difficult to get him any game time," said Smith.

"He is not allowed to play in our friendly matches because of the work permit situation. He will be here until the early part of next week and we will make a decision then."

Smith's need to strengthen his striking options was underlined yesterday by news that John Fleck's hamstring injury, suffered during Wednesday night's friendly at Clyde, is more serious than first diagnosed and will rule the teenager out of action until mid-September.

"John is worse than we first thought," confirmed Smith. "He will be out for six weeks. It's a blow for him as well as us, because he was starting to look as if he was more comfortable within our group. He did well in a couple of the games we have had during pre-season."

As Celtic have indulged in a signing frenzy during the summer, with Neil Lennon poised to further increase his current tally of seven new recruits before the end of the month, Smith is appreciative of the concern expressed by many Rangers supporters over the lack of activity from the SPL champions.

But despite having seen his squad reduced to 14 senior outfield players since the end of last season, Smith is determined to avoid replenishing his resources with new recruits who will not prove to effective long-term assets.

"There is a bit of gloom around among the fans about the situation," he said, "but I have taken my time, having had the same experience at Everton. I was in a situation where I didn't have a great deal of choice and you have to make it as good a choice as you possibly can.

"Rangers themselves had a situation in the past where they took players and then had to pay them off to get rid of them. I don't want to go down that road but the nearer we get to the end of the transfer window, the more we have to get numbers in.

"Preferably we can get them in before the start of the SPL season next weekend, but I have set my sights on the end of the transfer window. We have been trying hard and we know we need to get two or three players in. People talk about Dundee United winning the league with 14 players back in 1983, which I was involved in, but you can't do that nowadays. The pace and intensity of the game has changed a lot in the last 27 years."

Rangers face Newcastle United at Ibrox today in their only home pre-season friendly and their supporters may see some of the club's emerging talent, such as winger Gregg Wylde, in action.

"We have one or two young players who have been doing well in pre-season," added Smith. "If they can fulfil a bit of the potential they are looking like they might do, that would help us. But if I could get the squad up to 18, along with the younger ones, that would be decent for us."

Included in the Newcastle squad is former Rangers favourite Peter Lovenkrands and the Danish winger said he can't wait to return to Ibrox. "It's going to be fantastic going back to Rangers," he said. "I've been dreaming of that for a while, to play and run out there. I feel at home at Newcastle, too, but it feels like a second home. Rangers is the place where I made my mark and my football career took off. They'll always be special to me. They helped me along and I had a fantastic relationship there."