Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch's dream of lifting the UEFA Cup is alive after his injury problems.
McCulloch thought he would miss out on the run-in to his club's quadruple challenge after suffering a suspected broken foot in a challenge by Celtic midfielder Paul Hartley.
The former Motherwell man has not played since the Old Firm defeat on April 16 but he returned to training earlier this week and is expected to play some part in Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Dundee United.
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That would put him back in the frame for the club's first European final for 36 years when Rangers face Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester.
And McCulloch has declared himself ready to meet the challenge.
"I've trained again today so I feel all right and I think I will be fit for it, but it's up to the manager who is going to play," he said on Thursday.
"Two weeks ago I thought my season was over, so it's good to have a bit of hope.
"To get a run-out on Saturday would be brilliant.
"I was told my foot was broken, then a couple of days later when the swelling went down I had a scan and found it was only bone bruising."
McCulloch admits the thought of manager Walter Smith telling him he is not needed next Wednesday has gone through his mind.
"Everybody has probably thought about it," McCulloch said. "Everybody wants to play, everybody wants to start, myself included.
"But if the manager doesn't pick me I'll get on with it. I think every player at the club, the manager has done that much for them, I don't think they can bear any grudges about being dropped.
"He has brought players in that want to play for him. Everyone knows the respect the manager holds, but the respect he holds within the dressing room is fantastic, so it would be brilliant to go and do it for him."
McCulloch hopes his experience of playing at the City of Manchester Stadium for Wigan is a good omen.
"I have played there a few times before and never been beaten there," said McCulloch, who turns 30 on the day of the final.
"I have scored as well, so it all looks good."
The Scotland international is not dreaming of scoring another, however, as all he is concerned about is taking the trophy back to Glasgow.
"I just dream about winning it," he said. "It doesn't matter how we do it, an own goal whatever, just to win it would be brilliant - a dream come true."
McCulloch was speaking at an Ibrox open day to preview the final but the Rangers players have to forget about the biggest game of their lives until after their crucial SPL clash against United.
While Zenit had three games postponed to give them a free run to the final following their semi-final win over Bayern Munich, Rangers are playing three SPL games in seven days.
They won the second of those thanks to a Barry Ferguson goal against Motherwell last night and have to beat United to keep the title destiny in their own hands.
The SPL rejected a request from Rangers to postpone the United clash and McCulloch admits the decision has fired them up.
"I think it has spurred us on a little bit," he said.
"When the league ask you to play four games in a week, everybody I have spoken to in England has been laughing at it and laughing at us really.
"The schedule has been nothing short of ridiculous. But the games are there, we have got to play them and win them. The demands are high.
"Everyone keeps going on about tiredness but with the squad we have got, I don't think we can complain.
"As long as you get the right rest, you are going to be all right."
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.20 ON PORTSMOUTH v FULHAM
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Sunday afternoon's Premiership clash between Portsmouth v Fulham, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.20, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £41.20 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match and we will collect £115.00 if Portsmouth win, £112.20 if Fulham win and £114.13 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 58%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Place £20.00 on Portsmouth at 3.00 (2/1) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Portsmouth as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Portsmouth.
Back the draw with £25.00 at 3.7 (11/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £26.00 on Fulham at 2.2 (6/5) with Extrabet.
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £51.00 riding on Fulham.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Portsmouth win, you collect £115.00. That's £90.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £114.13. That's £89.13 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Fulham win you collect £112.20. That's £87.20 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Fulham match is Fulham win and you make £41.20 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £43.13 and if Portsmouth win you make £44.00. That's a minimum profit of 58%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
