Jermain Defoe is expected to make his Rangers debut this evening in their Scottish Cup fourth round tie at Cowdenbeath.
Defoe completed his move from Bournemouth to Ibrox on January 6, signing an 18-month loan deal with Steven Gerrard’s Gers.
The Scottish winter break has meant the 36-year-old ex-England striker has been made to wait for his first taste of action with the Glasgow giants.
But Gerrard is expected to hand a debut to his new star when they take on Cowdenbeath at Central Park Stadium in the cup tonight (kick-off at 7:45pm).
Defoe’s last featured for Bournemouth on December 19, coming on as a late substitute in their defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It will be an entirely different story for the veteran forward at Cowdenbeath’s ground where stock car racing is a regular fixture on the calendar.
While Defoe is set for a baptism of fire over the border, Rangers chief Gerrard is excited about the arrival of the former Tottenham star.
He said: “We’ve tried certain things with the way we play. Jermain gives us the option of obviously playing two up front, it gives us that luxury.
“When we use Jermain, if we use him with another forward, everyone else will maybe have to adapt and evolve, but it’s so exciting to have the options because we haven’t really had that.
“We’ve only really had one or two ways of playing and we’ve tended to stick with that.”
Cowdenbeath captain David Marsh, meanwhile, believes Defoe doesn’t quite know what he’s got himself into to.
He said: “He has never tried to control a ball on a skid mark from a stock car. I do that every week. He won’t have a clue what to do but maybe that’s wishful thinking.
“I’ve seen cars driving about the pitch and you can see the tyre marks – he won’t be used to that.”
Defoe’s former boss Harry Redknapp doesn’t have any such fears and has backed the Premier League legend to be a huge hit at Rangers.
Redknapp told talkSPORT: “It’s an amazing signing.
“The little man is as fit as a fiddle. He’s an unbelievable professional, he lives right, he doesn’t drink and he is super fit.
“I really think he can go up there and score a lot of goals. I think Jermain will be amazing up there for Rangers.”
Rangers predicted line-ups vs Cowdenbeath: Foderingham, Halliday, McAuley, Worrall, Tavernier, Arfield, McCrorie, Middleton, Candeias, Defoe, Morelos.
