AS a native of Dumfries who spent time at Queen of the South as both a youth player and a loan signing, Cammy Bell would love to see the Doonhamers win promotion to the top flight.

He just doesn't want it to occur this season. At his expense.

The 28-year-old's goal was breached just once during the Premiership play-off quarter-final, first leg on his old stomping ground of Palmerston Park last weekend, but it still left a sour taste in his mouth.

Referee Alan Muir missed the crude, blocking manoeuvre employed by Chris Higgins which left both Darren McGregor and Richard Foster lying on the club's artificial surface while Derek Lyle swooped to head in Ian McShane's corner. Such stunts are an established part of football but Bell said he hoped today's match officials were well warned about illegal activity at set plays.

"You would like to think so, yeah," he said. "There is so much that goes on in the box at a corner that it is tough for the officials but hopefully they might recognise it this time if they try the same trick again."

Bell acknowledges the continued growth of his hometown team under his former Kilmarnock team-mate James Fowler and will have friends all over the ground today, which is set to be a 51,000 sell-out, but there is no question of consorting with the enemy. Bell already feels he has been away from top-flight football for too long. He also hasn't given up on adding to his solitary Scotland cap.

"I still have some friends who are Queens supporters," said the goalkeeper. "Having been there as a kid and there again on loan, I know a few people at the club who will be at the game. It would be great for that area [to have a Premiership team] but it is not my concern. I am desperate for Rangers to get promoted. I will be doing everything I can to achieve that.

"I love this club and the top level is where I want to be. For the fans as well. It has been hard but we are still in the thick of things and hopefully we can end this season on a real positive."

Other than the goal and an angled drive from Kevin Holt which he pawed away from a top corner, Bell was hardly troubled in the first match. This was tribute more than anything to a well-organised defensive effort, which featured Andy Murdoch doggedly blanketing the creative threat of Danny Carmichael, and a robust, pacy three-man backline of McGregor, Marius Zaliukas and Lee Wallace. Indeed, so effective was the 3-5-1-1 shape employed by McCall that there could be a temptation to repeat it in the second leg, a match which Rangers don't need to win. However they decide to line up, Bell feels that playing for a draw is not an option and his manager seems to agree.

"No, for me we have to go and win the game," Bell said. "We're at Ibrox. Yes, we've got a one-goal lead but we play every game to win it and we know we need to play well to do it. We need to take that positivity into the next games if we get through too."

Thankfully, a sunny personality is a key part of McCall's armoury. A bit like Gordon Strachan's Scotland, he feels that going forward is his team's strength and is determined to play to it.

"There is a temptation to keep it how it is, but there is also a temptation to change it with the personnel," McCall said. "I understand where James Fowler is coming from when he said the first goal is all-important. For me though the winning goal is the most important one and I am confident with the group we have that we will create chances. There will be no mindset from us to go out and protect our lead. I'm always happy we will make opportunities with the players we have and the way we play but the key is that we cut out the errors at the other end."

The new vitality about this Rangers side is motivated by myriad things. Some are playing for their futures, some to salvage their season, some to see the manager who restored faith in them retained on a permanent basis.

"We are just playing for the club, really," said Bell. "We want to get the club promoted. Obviously we would love Stuart to keep the job. A lot of the boys are really happy with him and I think he has done a really good job. There are also boys playing for contracts as well. So it is all up for grabs.

"For me personally I want to play in the top league. So everybody is fighting to go in the same direction. If we get promoted hopefully Stuart will get the job and the boys will get the contracts and everyone will be happy. But there is a lot of hard work ahead before that is done."

The match will be played out at a capacity Ibrox, which could be an advantage, the crowd roaring the home side to victory, or could bring additional pressure which spooks them, but for Bell there is no ambiguity.

"We're desperate for the place to be full," he said. "When you sign for Rangers there's a pressure to win every game anyway. There's no hiding place. The whole season comes down to this one game. Hopefully there will be more games we can say that about. But Sunday is the one right in front of us."