Rangers fans yesterday pledged to take the �blue sea of Ibrox� to Manchester for the Uefa Cup final with 100,000 fans expected to descend on the city.

Rangers fans yesterday pledged to take the "blue sea of Ibrox" to Manchester for the Uefa Cup final with 100,000 fans expected to descend on the city.

Hotel rooms, air tickets and train seats have all become scarce following Rangers' win against Fiorentina on Thursday, with fans being told to stay away from Manchester on May 14 if they do not have a ticket for the final against Zenit St Petersburg.

Around 15,000 tickets have been allocated to Rangers fans at the City of Manchester Stadium, with around six times that number of fans due to head south for a piece of cup final action. Rangers were yesterday trying to secure a higher allocation of seats in a stadium which has a capacity of 50,000.

Manchester City Council said yesterday it has "no plans at present" to screen the match in fan zones, but the civic authorities have been urged to face up to the numbers of those planning to make the trip and celebrate the club's first European final in 36 years.

David Edgar, spokesman for the Rangers Supporters' Trust, said: "We are looking at 100,000 fans going down... There are two ways Manchester can go about this. They can plan for what they want to happen or plan for what will happen.

"Back on planet earth they need to be preparing for having 100,000 fans in the city.

"Manchester made the bid to get this final, they won it and now they have to deal with it. They have to accept this is an exceptional situation and they will have to deal with it in an exceptional way.

"People just want to be there. It's not just about watching the game at the stadium, it's about sharing the experience."

A spokesman for Visit Manchester said that virtually all hotel rooms in the city had been booked up and urged fans to seek out accommodation in hotels closer to the airport and in surrounding areas of the city.

One hotel website, LateRooms.com, said it experienced a 500% increase in calls on Thursday night with 44% of searches for rooms in Manchester on May 14.

Andy Kerr, of Ranger Supporters' Assembly, said the fans' experience in Florence for the semi-final showed that good planning could make a safe, enjoyable experience.

Mr Kerr said: "At first the authorities wanted a fairly zero tolerance approach to fans, but after talks with Rangers' security, there were free buses put on for supporters and a low profile style of policing, which meant you could go about your business without hassle. All the bars and restaurants were opened despite it being a holiday.

"One of the reasons Manchester will have been awarded the final is that they have the facilities and infrastructure. They should use that to meet the demand from fans."

Rangers said there will be on-going talks with a number of bodies in the run up to the final, but it is not clear if bosses will urge Manchester to revise their plans for visiting supporters. Among the suggestions was for Manchester United's Old Trafford ground to be opened up for fans to watch the televised match.

A spokesman for Manchester City Council indicated yesterday there could be room for manoeuvre. He said: "It is less than 24 hours since Rangers qualified and we are still talking to the club.

"Our position is at the moment, if you don't have a ticket don't come to Manchester as you won't see the match. Stay in Scotland and enjoy it.

"Obviously we are considering the intelligence we get from the clubs and supporters groups, but our position is, please don't come if you don't have a ticket."

Glasgow City Council will set up a big screen in George Square for fans to watch the match, with the Merchant City also being touted as a potential location, although no final decision has been made yet.

Council leader Steven Purcell phoned David Murray, chairman of Rangers, and chief executive Martin Bain to congratulate them on the win.

Councillor Purcell said: "The fans have behaved brilliantly this week. It's now vital that Glasgow makes sure everyone can enjoy the match at home, here in Glasgow."