The preparation for a match can be an involving process but Jim Jefferies was inclined to take a step back as he readied his Dunfermline Athletic side to face Rangers tomorrow.

The two clubs will meet on SPFL League 1 duty in a match which might cheekily be referred to as a promotion battle, albeit the Ibrox side are already a full 11 points ahead of the third-place Fife side.

That has done little to distance Jefferies from a "strange" sensation as he finalises his plans to deliver Rangers' first league defeat of the campaign. The manager is a veteran of matches at Ibrox following past spells in charge of Kilmarnock and Hearts but the knowledge that both his current club and their hosts met regularly in the top flight just a few years ago has still given him pause.

His focus will be pulled back into the present tomorrow night, though, as he compels his Dunfermline team to stem a run of 10 straight league wins for the Ibrox side. Jefferies was perhaps being mischievous when he described his team as "a good little football side" but he is hopeful that his youngsters will stand up to the pressures of playing at Ibrox.

"We've got to go in there and enjoy the occasion," said the Dunfermline manager. "For some it will be the first time at Ibrox, so it will be a big occasion for them and, for me, it will be a great experience to see how they can handle it, the intensity of playing Rangers at Ibrox.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Ally [McCoist] and Ian Durrant and Kenny McDowell because I've not been involved in a game against them for a wee while. It wasn't that long ago that this was a Premier League fixture, so it will be strange to be going there for a league game in this division, just as its strange Rangers are playing in this division. That's the way football is: they got into trouble and had to face the consequences; we went into administration and faced the consequences. That's why we're here."

Any why they are here now is due to the initial fixture being postponed as members of the Rangers squad were to be called up on international duty. Jefferies was not invited to offer an opinion as to which side might be favourite, then, although there have been occasions this season when his team have been allowed to feel like the big boys.

"Every team has raised their game against Rangers and every team has raised their game against Dunfermline," said Jefferies. "We're seen as a big club in this division and seen as a team to try and get at, as they know we've got a young side. This will be the first time we'll be going in as the total underdogs, like everybody else that goes there, but most managers say to me that we're the best football team they've faced outside Rangers."