LEWIS MACLEOD celebrated his side's second SPFL Premiership scalp of the season last night and made it clear he fancies his chances of adding that of Celtic to the list.

The 20-year-old Rangers midfielder scored the goal that knocked Inverness Caledonian Thistle out of the League Cup in the second round and repeated the dose last night with an 87th-minute header to defeat St Johnstone and put the Ibrox club into the semi-finals.

Macleod is convinced this side is capable of going on to win the tournament and admits he would love to be given the opportunity to take part in the first Old Firm derby of his career when the draw is made on Saturday evening.

"We have already put out two teams from the top league, so there is no reason why we can't go on and win it," he said. "I don't have any preferences over who we get, although I would obviously fancy playing Celtic. I'm a Rangers fan, so I think everybody would be happy to get them, whether it is in the semis or if we progressed to the final. I believe we can beat anybody.

"I don't know how it would feel to play against Celtic, but it would obviously be a massive occasion after everything that has happened. It goes without saying that it would be one of the most hyped-up games for a wee while, but we will see how the draw goes at the weekend and we will look forward to the semi-final no matter who we play against."

Rangers made it to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup last season, where they suffered a 3-1 reverse at home to Dundee United. Macleod insists the team is playing with greater confidence now, though, and are better equipped to go all the way in a domestic cup competition for the first time since administration in 2012. "I didn't play against Dundee United last season, but we could have done a bit better," he said. "Since then, though, we have progressed as a team and have improved over the last few weeks. I hope we can continue to do that and do better when the semi-final comes next year.

"Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller have brought a lot of quality, but we are playing better as a team. They have obviously added to that."

Rangers carved out their victory last night in front of a crowd of 13,023 and Macleod admits it was disappointing not to have a larger support. "It was a wee bit weird with the crowd like that," he said. "As players you want the place to be packed and to be as loud as ever. But we just have to get the job done and we did that against St Johnstone."

Macleod also spoke of the side's debt to goalkeeper Steve Simonsen, who was taken off on a stretcher with his neck in a brace after hitting his head against the post on 50 minutes when producing an excellent save from Brian Graham. "We do have to say thanks to Steve for the save when he got injured," said Macleod. "It was a brilliant stop and we want to wish him all the best. Likewise, we'd hope Murray Davidson [St Johnstone] recovers well. It's never nice to see players carried off."