Ayr manager Gordon Dalziel insists he will not damage one of his team's greatest assets by naming his side to play Rangers in the CIS Cup final too early.

The Ayr boss will delay his announcement until just over an hour before kick off to prevent shattering the "fantastic" team spirit that exists in the Somerset Park dressing room.

Dalziel is aware that players who miss out on potentially the biggest game of their career could be devastated by omission from the starting XI.

But he is anxious that such a reaction should not disrupt the focus of the squad.

"I don't want a couple of guys sitting there with their heads down feeling sorry for themselves.

"There is a fantastic spirit here, and that is what has carried us through this far.

"The dressing room has been superb. I think the most important thing in football, from my experience, is the dressing room.

"If the dressing room is good then you have a chance on the park because everyone pulls together in the right direction. I have absolutely no fears about that."

Springboard for success

Rangers boss Alex McLeish acknowledges that his side are in a Catch 22 situation, in that victory is expected while defeat would be catastrophic.

Nevertheless, he is hopeful that a win over Ayr can prove to be a catalyst for further success at Ibrox.

"It's the hiding-to-nothing scenario again, just as it was in earlier rounds of the Scottish Cup when we faced Berwick Rangers and then went up to Forfar," said McLeish.

"We were expected to win handsomely, and when you don't the press go to town on you. But we know the expectations, and these are the type of pressures you have to live with if you want to be a part of this club.

"If the players are feeling the pressure then they are not showing it. They are relaxed; they are confident and they are playing with a confidence that was possibly not there when I arrived at the club.

"I certainly hope that during my tenure at Ibrox, which I hope will be a long time, it will be the springboard for future success."