Jerome Rothen ready at Rangers

Walter Smith has dropped a heavy hint that Jerome Rothen will start tomorrow’s SPL clash against Motherwell.

The Frenchman looks set to make his debut as Rangers attempt to make it four wins out of four in the league before travelling to Germany to face Stuttgart on Wednesday night.

Kyle Lafferty is expected to be out of action for two weeks but Rothen's first outing in a Light Blue jersey is sure to add an air of anticipation prior to kick-off at Fir Park.

Smith said: "Jerome is ready to play. "He has had a good pre-season behind him and a number of games as well so the sooner we get him involved the better."

Jim Gannon is now in charge of the Steelmen and, despite a painful European exit to Steaua Bucharest, the club are unbeaten in the league and sit fifth in the table.

The Gers gaffer is expecting another tough 90 minutes but hopes his Scottish and Northern Irish international stars can bounce back from painful midweek defeats to Holland and Slovakia respectively.

He said: "Motherwell have had a new manager come in and I don't think there has been a club that has had a bigger change in terms of playing staff.

"I looked at one of their teams from a game earlier this season and there were only two players from last season in it.

Source: Rangers Press

Glasgow Rangers FC 2009 / 2010 squad and numbers: Premier League and Champions League

Rangers have confirmed the squad and numbers:

1 GK Allan McGregor
2 MF Maurice Edu
3 DF David Weir (captain)
4 MF Pedro Mendes
5 DF Saša Papac
6 MF Lee McCulloch
7 MF Steven Davis
8 MF Kevin Thomson
9 FW Kris Boyd
10 FW Nacho Novo
14 FW Steven Naismith
No. Position Player
16 DF Steven Whittaker
18 FW Kenny Miller
19 MF Aarón (on loan from Valencia)
20 MF DaMarcus Beasley
21 DF Kirk Broadfoot
24 DF Madjid Bougherra
25 GK Neil Alexander
26 DF Steven Smith
27 FW Kyle Lafferty
29 MF John Fleck

Jack Wilshere impresses and Rosicky return: Arsenal 3 – Rangers 0

The midfielder, just 17, came off the bench to seal victory over Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

He was rewarded with 90 minutes against Rangers in today's Emirates Cup final.

Wilshere bagged the opener after just two minutes with Eduardo grabbing the second soon after.

And he completed the rout with Arsenal's third after the break.

Having lost Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City over past fortnight, critics have hit out at Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

His lack of activity in this summer's transfer market has led some to believe their grip on a top four spot could slip to City this season.

But in Wilshere they have a little ray of light.

The tiny youngster showed he can be just the tonic for doubting Arsenal supporters by blasting in the first.

Fellow whizkid Fran Merida then played in Croatian striker Eduardo to double the lead as the Gunners cruised ahead.

Wilshere was the star of the show though and he almost nabbed another before the break when he beat three players but his majestic chip was tipped over.

He continued to impress after the break, wriggling his way through the Rangers defence only to shoot wide.

Steven Naismith fluffed a glorious chance to pull one back before Wilshere struck again.

Sub Aaron Ramsey's inch-perfect pass was stroked home by the on-rushing England youth international.

Source: The Sun

Kevin Thomson is back in Rangers squad

Thomson couldn't care less how well he played against FC Nuremberg - he was just thrilled to be back in action again after eight months out.

The midfielder made his comeback from a cruciate knee ligament injury yesterday when he came on in the second half of the 2-0 win at the Frankenstadion.

Thomson completed the final 30 minutes and the sight of him in a Light Blues jersey once more was fantastic for the travelling fans in Germany.

Even though he was quiet when he appeared against the Bundesliga outfit, the 24-year-old was simply happy to be in the thick of it.

Thomson said: "It was good to be back. When the subs were warming up at half-time, the manager told me not to bother and to do it at the start of the second half instead.

"I knew then that I was going to get on but waiting for it lasted for ages - I've never looked at a clock so often in all my life!

"That 15-minute warm-up felt like it lasted about four hours but I finally got the shout from Kenny McDowall with about 56 or 57 minutes gone.

"It was nice to get on for the last half hour and my performance wasn't that great but it was just great to be back out there again.

"I'm a wee bit disappointed I didn't get more involved in the game than I did because I'd have liked to do that.

"I'm the type of player that puts high demands on myself but I know that after being out for almost nine months, I wasn't going to hit the ground running.

"I ran about and managed to get a few touches of the ball - I gave it away a few times too but I'm just absolutely delighted to be playing again.

"Now I've got my first game out of the way and I hope that can be the launchpad for a good pre-season.

"I hope to be involved again when we play SC Wiedenbruck on Tuesday. The trip has been a bit stop-start and my knee has been a wee bit puffy as a result.

"But we'll keep icing my knee up, take every precaution possible and hopefully I'll be able to get some more minutes under my belt."

Source: Rangers Press