Dermot Keely is optimistic that Shelbourne can profit from the lessons of the first game in their return UEFA Cup meeting with Rangers in the intimidating setting of Ibrox Park this evening.

Realistically, the odds are very much on the Scottish side progressing to the next stage of the competition after their achievement in turning a 3-0 deficit into a dramatic 5-3 success in the original meeting of the clubs at Prenton Park.

"Nobody can dispute that Rangers are now very much in the driving seat, but I think there was enough in the match at Tranmere to convince us that it is not mission impossible," says Keely.

"To score three times against a side like Rangers was very reassuring. True, some of our own work in defence wasn't very clever in the second half but this time I believe we will be a lot tighter in this department."

Just as was the case at Tranmere, Alan Gough, the Shelbourne goalkeeper, will have a key role to discharge and the hope is that Pat Scully and Tony McCarthy can now sustain their contribution for 90 minutes and deny the home team the kind of chances they could scarcely refuse last week.

A lot, too, will depend on the ability of players like Pat Fenlon and Mark Rutherford in midfield and Pat Morley, who showed that he is capable of inflicting some damage on the Scots by the manner in which he took his goal at Prenton Park.

Rangers manager Dick Advocaat will hand Italian defender Lorenzo Amoruso the captaincy as his new-look side aim to avoid any further UEFA Cup wobbles. The Dutch coach was expected to hand his compatriot Arthur Numan the armband while his side wait on Colin Hendry's possible arrival from Blackburn.

But Advocaat sprang a surprise by revealing Amoruso will lead the side out against the National League side, even though he will miss Sunday's Scottish Premier League opener against Hearts through suspension.

The decision may reflect the uncertainty over whether Numan is fully fit to start the match after missing most of Rangers' pre-season preparations. There is also a doubt over Ukrainian winger Andrei Kanchelskis.

Left-back Numan only resumed training on Monday after his World Cup exploits with Holland, but with Staale Stensaas on the injured list he may well feature tonight.

Kanchelskis could also make his competitive entrance for Rangers after his £5.5 million arrival from Fiorentina as the Glasgow giants look to book a comfortable passage into the second qualifying round.

Advocaat is anxious there is no repeat of last week's humiliating first leg setback at Tranmere's Prenton Park, where it took a fivegoal blitz in the last half hour to ultimately render Shelbourne's three-goal lead irrelevant.

"It is my first game at Ibrox and for many of the players as well, and we are all looking forward to it," said the Dutchman.

"Hopefully we can bring the same form that we showed in the second half of the game last week when we showed people what we can do. It was alarming to see the goals we conceded but you have to understand the problems we have had in the last four weeks with so many changes.

"Celtic had the same problems last week and could only draw at home, even though they played with almost their first-choice team.

"But at least we got the goals behind us and we know what we have to do, but it takes a little bit of time for the team to settle down.

"They had four attacks and scored three goals in the first game and we know that in the second round we will find teams with more quality and we have to be careful about these types of mistakes."

Argentine forward Gabriel Amato, who came off the bench to score twice in the first leg, was expected to join up with the squad last night after four days away attending the birth of his son in Majorca.

And Advocaat is keen for him to take some part as he looks beyond tonight to the start of the domestic campaign.

"It depends how he is feeling, but hopefully after two days rest, he can play," he added.