Their seven-point haul and second-placed status in Group E might have provided a temptation to push at a frame already slightly ajar, with the midweek encounter carrying no real penalty for failure. Instead, the requirement to shut up shop will continue to dictate that manager Walter Smith configures his team in a 4-5-1 line-up. Even when he would now acknowledge the designated solitary striker role effectively requires two players to perform it.

A fit-again Jean-Claude Darcheville might be preferred to Daniel Cousin, initially, for a task that requires the expending of vast reserves of energy and stamina - not possessed by the club's best finisher Kris Boyd - in pursuit of very little. In more prosaic terms, Cousin was forced to run about daft during the defeat in the Nou Camp without hardly getting a touch of the ball for his efforts. The prowess of Barcelona, more than the limitations of the system, may have accounted for that fact, but Smith accepts that the position asks the earth of whoever undertakes it.

"It is a really hard job," he says. "We are flat out in the Champions League and we have to be if we hope to gain anything. And while that can make for difficult nights for every player, that position is one of those that is practically impossible to play for the full 90 minutes. It would take a special kind of player to handle that for a whole 90 minutes.

"We will stick to our formation for Tuesday but one of the things we have been trying to do over the period is get people far closer to that striker. In terms of possession and retention of the ball at different times, we have to make a big improvement, so we have more players in that situation.

"All told, 13 players have gone out and 14 players have come in since we took over and that means we require time for different aspects of our game to settle down. Because of the injury situation with Jean-Claude Darcheville, we have never really had an on-going partnership, and been able to fit Daniel Cousin in as we would like. But we have far more knowledge of him now and the way he plays and so should be able to integrate him better."

Cousin, signed for £1.2m from Lens in the summer, excelled in the scintillating 3-0 victory in Lyon that proved monumental in Rangers being guaranteed a place in the UEFA Cup, regardless of how they fare in Stuttgart and the home game to follow against Lyon that will complete their group fixtures. Yet, the diffident striker does not give the impression of being entirely sold on the one-man forward line berth that has been all-new to him, or indeed a long-term future in the Scottish game.

Recently it emerged he has a £3m get-out clause in his three-year contract. Although the 30-year-old states he would "like to stay" he also admits that "things in football move quickly and if there are more interesting propositions I would like to consider these along with the club. France is finished but maybe England is possible." Hardly unquestionable commitment from a player who may struggle to attract a valuation three times his worth only a matter of months ago.

If Cousin does little more in his Rangers career than he has until this point, though, he will still have served a purpose. For, as Smith points out, "no one envisaged" the Ibrox men being a decent bet to reach the knock-out stages with two Group E matches remaining. They will achieve that feat with a game to spare if they win on Tuesday and Lyon lose at home to Barcelona. Should Stuttgart pick-up their first points with a win and the French champions inflict defeat on the Catalan club, Rangers will need to beat Alan Perrin's men next month. Draws for either or both this week would complicate matters further. If Lyon draw and Rangers draw or lose, a tied scoreline would see Smith's side through when the two go head-to-head at Ibrox.

"If you had said to me that was going to be the case at the start of the section, I'd have grasped it with both hands," the Rangers manager says. "We have to make sure we grasp the opportunity we have. But it will be tough. I have read a lot of things saying Rangers are favourites. But you can see Lyon are settling down after introducing a whole load of new players and a new coach. They are capable of getting a good result at home to Barcelona. And although Stuttgart have nothing to play for in terms of the group, they will have lost a bit of pride in having no points and that aspect will be a major motivation in their play. They are climbing back up their league because they are a really good team.

"The section is well placed from our point of view but we know we will need at least one exceptional performance to get through. We have raised the level of expectation by doing well, but I am obviously far happier at having done that than being in the situation most people envisaged us being in - which would have been bottom of the group."