WHEN it comes to all matters relating to Rangers, most folk have grown accustomed to expecting the tales of the unexpected on a daily basis.
If Elvis screeched into Murray Park on the back of Evel Knievel's motor bike, swapped his rhinestone jumpsuit for some training kit and insisted to all and sundry that Derek Llambias had assured him of a place in the starting XI, you'd probably shrug your shoulders and nonchalantly mutter 'yip, that figures'.
Nothing really surprises you these days in the predictably unpredictable world of Scottish football's most captivating soap opera. So when Nicky Clark confidently predicted that the Ibrox team can win the Scottish Cup this season, the assembled scribes just bobbed their heads with nodding acceptance. Anything is possible with Rangers, after all.
At the end of another turbulent, all singing, all dancing week in which Kenny McDowall was told that his five loan Rangers from Newcastle - Gael Bigirimana, Haris Vuckic, Kevin Mbaba, Remie Streete and Shane Ferguson - must start every game during their period in Glasgow if fitness allows, Clark talked in optimistic tones about the club's quest for honours in the Scottish Cup.
Seven days after being soundly beaten by old foes Celtic in the Scottish League Cup semi-final, Rangers host Raith Rovers in the fifth round of a competition they have won 33 times down the years.
Since losing to their rivals from Kirkcaldy in the final of the Ramsden's Cup last April, Rangers have meted out some fairly fearsome revenge and have won 4-0 and 6-1 in the championship encounters between the two sides this season.
Very much the underdogs against Celtic last weekend, Rangers are expected to be the top dogs in their own back yard today and Clark believes there is no reason why McDowall's men can't take a glory road back to Hampden.
"I don't see why we can't go all the way to be honest," he declared with a sense of positivity that can often be hard to find in the various nooks and crannies of Murray Park. "We've beaten a couple of SPL teams so if they turn up again we'll fancy our chances.
"I wouldn't mind another go at Celtic. Hopefully we could do them this time. I'm not so sure the gap that people have spoken about between the teams is quite so big. Everyone expected Celtic to come and batter us 4-0 or 5-0 but I think we showed that we can still put a challenge up against them, especially in the second half when we did a lot better. At the end of the day you've got to see yourselves as winners of cups and leagues. So without a doubt we see ourselves as potential winners."
Clark, the 23-year-old son of former Rangers stalwart Sandy, has struggled to get himself among the goals this season. He's not the only misfiring front man in the light blue, of course. Kris Boyd was expected to rack up a barrow load after returning to Ibrox in the summer but the goals for column is about as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's pantry. With just two leagues goals to his name, Boyd is now struggling to get a game let alone hit the back of the net.
"He's a great finisher and you just don't lose that overnight; he'll be back," insisted Clark, who has managed only four goals himself in the current campaign. "Sometimes you just need a bit of luck, maybe a goal that just hits you and goes in and that's you off and flying. It's been hard for him this season but the four of us who have been playing up front haven't really got a goal scoring run going. For me, there are always points to prove when you are at a massive club. You always want to do better than the game before, you want to score more goals. I think I have more to prove here."
Clark will be hoping Rangers make a point against Raith Rovers and progress into the latter stages of the Scottish Cup. Some 28 years ago, McDowall was part of the St Mirren side that upset the odds and beat UEFA Cup finalists Dundee United in the domestic showpiece and the current Rangers manager is hoping to evoke that spirit of '87 in 2015. "When you go into competitions, you like to think you could go the whole way," said McDowall. "I know from my experience with St Mirren. Nobody would have told you when it started that we were going to win the cup, but you never know when it's your year. Our thinking here is the same."
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