McCoist insists Rangers have to cut out naivety if they are to make their mark

Furthermore, Maurice Edu was dismissed against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the weekend to take the Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions’ crime count to three red cards and 11 cautions in just five matches.

While the manager does not believe there is a discipline problem among his squad, he has highlighted the importance of avoiding any rash decision-making as they face Maribor in the Ljudski Stadium.

“Indiscipline did not help matters in Malmo, against a team we were doing very well against,” said McCoist. “Then, at the weekend, obviously Maurice was sent off, as well. But I would certainly be of the opinion that there was no malice in any of the sending-offs. It’s just been a case of naivety and daftness more than anything else.

“So the players need to be a bit smarter, especially in European football. You know what it’s like, players go down a lot easier. Just look at Whittaker’s red card in Malmo. I had no problem with that decision because he threw the ball at an opponent, but it hit the boy on the shoulder and he was rolling around holding his face. Whittaker should still have been red carded but that’s the kind of thing you are up against in Europe. They don’t play the same way as the British do. I’m not sure you’d get too many Brits going down and doing that but its part-and-parcel of European football.

“We mention these things to the players but the boys know what they are up against. We spoke about it after Malmo and we spoke about it after Inverness but they are big boys -- they shouldn’t need me to tell them things like that. It’s all pretty basic stuff.”

Having unsuccessfully attempted to bolster his defensive options ahead of tonight’s first leg, McCoist could find himself having to deploy Lee McCulloch alongside Dorin Goian at the heart of his back line.

Kyle Bartley failed to board the flight and is expected to be missing for a fortnight with the groin problem which forced him to limp off during the first half in Inverness. Davie Weir also didn’t travel and Sasa Papac and Whittaker are both suspended.

“I’ve been preparing for this tie as if we weren’t going to bring anyone else in,” said McCoist, speaking before the capture of Carlos Bocanegra was confirmed. “I don’t get frustrated because there is no point. You just have to handle the situations that are thrown at you and that’s what we will do. For a small squad we have one or two options. McCulloch, [Kirk] Broadfoot and Lee Wallace could all play centre back.

“It’s not ideal but we also have young Ross Perry and I wouldn’t hesitate in throwing him in. I watched him for Scotland’s under-21’s and he did great. Also, I thought he did really well when he came on at Inverness. It wasn’t an ideal situation for him but he handled it well against a couple of boys who know their way around in the league.”

As ever, McCoist will have to find the correct balance between trying to score a vital away goal and making sure they don’t leave too many gaps at the other end against a team he believes are quite similar to Malmo.

He said: “I’ve had a good look at Maribor. They are not a bad side. They have lost one or two players but they are more than capable of inflicting damage. They were a wee bit unlucky not to qualify for the Champions League but they can score goals. They drew 0-0 at the weekend but they look like a side that can score goals and they are probably not a lot unlike Malmo, believe it or not. They are a similar standard with one or two stand-out players.

“It won’t be a case of trying to shut up shop. I fancied us to get a goal in Malmo and we did that even though it wasn’t enough. Clean sheets are obviously important but if you can nick an away goal it really helps the cause and we certainly have players who are capable of hitting them on the break.”