Concern for Bell ahead of Ibrox clash

CAMMY BELL has emerged as the latest Rangers injury concern ahead of tomorrow’s crunch Scottish Cup semi-final — with back-up goalkeeper Steve Simonsen preparing to face Dundee United. It is understood the former Kilmarnock man suffered a knock in training earlier this week and is highly unlikely to be available for the last-four encounter. That will open the way for Simonsen to make only a second appearance for the

Ibrox outfit since joining on a free transfer in September. The 35-year-old, who counts Everton, Stoke and Dundee among his former clubs, took to Twitter last night to announce his readiness. ‘Feel so sorry for Cammy, it’s rotten Iuck, but I will step up,’ Simonsen tweeted. ‘I want this so much, for me, for my teammates, my kids, & The Rangers Family!’ He later backtracked a little, adding: ‘I hasten to add I’m not saying Cammy is 100% out of the game. Just that I’m fired right up if it’s the case! This is why I’m here, to step up.’ Ibrox boss Ally McCoist already has a major doubt over star left-back Lee Wallace, while Andy Little and David Templeton are also poised to miss out. Meanwhile, McCoist has insisted the Rangers management and players felt the same pain as supporters in the wake of their dire Ramsdens Cup Final defeat. But he is adamant they are now ready to cast off that bitter disappointment and come out all guns blazing against United at Ibrox. The fury expressed by fans following the extra-time loss to Raith Rovers was intensified when a photograph allegedly showing McCoist singing at a post-match function for players and their families emerged online. The 51-year-old has yet to comment directly on the issue but yesterday made it clear all those within the dressing room were deeply upset by the shock loss at Easter Road. ‘I can assure everybody the players were feeling it along with the staff and all the supporters,’ he said. ‘You win and lose together as a team and a squad and everybody feels the same. ‘We were extremely low after Sunday but it is our job to get everybody back up and focused again. ‘Rangers teams of the past have lost big games and they’ve always bounced back and showed a great mental attitude. Hopefully this team will do the same. ‘We’ve seen — and we can tell — that the players are well up for it and they’re really motivated and focused on getting the job done.’ McCoist agrees with the bookmakers that United are favourites for the last-four clash, despite it being held at Ibrox. ‘We’re still really disappointed as you would expect but we can’t sit back and feel sorry for ourselves,’ he told Rangers TV. ‘We’ve got a massive, massive game on Saturday and it’s a huge opportunity to get to the Final. ‘There’s nothing we can do about Sunday now. We can’t change it and it’s gone. ‘What we can have an effect on is the match with United. There’s absolutely no doubt we can move on. It’s a game against a team who will definitely be favourites against us and they’ve had some good performances this season. ‘Outwith their 2-0 defeat to Celtic last week, Dundee United have been scoring goals for fun and they’ve got some very good players. ‘At the same time, our lads know what is expected of them and the game is getting played at our stadium. ‘We’ll have a fantastic support there and in an ideal world we’ll give them something to shout about.’ Meanwhile, Rangers legend Alex MacDonald does not believe McCoist deserves criticism for allowing the squad to enjoy the function held at Ibrox after Sunday’s defeat. ‘Building team spirit can happen anywhere, any time,’ said former Hearts boss MacDonald. ‘You do anything, anything at all to get that team spirit because they have got a big game this week. ‘It happened to us with Hearts, we got beat on the last day of the league (in 1986) and had to go play Aberdeen (in the Scottish Cup Final) the following week. If I thought going to the pub would have helped us I would have been there. You have to build team spirit.’