FRANCISCO Sandaza had better prepare himself for a higher level of scrutiny this afternoon than he's ever experienced in his life.

He won't necessarily win any man-of-the-match award when St Johnstone play Rangers but no player will be more closely watched or judged. St Johnstone supporters will be sensitive to even the slightest sign that a man who could soon join Rangers isn't interested in harming them. Many Rangers fans feel they need to see more of the 27-year-old Spaniard before making up their minds about whether or not they fancy him.

It will be an unforgiving, pressurised set of circumstances for Sandaza but if he's going to end up as an Old Firm player, and handle it, he may as well get used to it sooner rather than later. Ally McCoist has seen enough in the former Dundee United forward to believe he should be part of Rangers' plans for the next few years. McCoist contacted his friend, the St Johnstone manager Steve Lomas, yesterday to notify him that Sandaza had been approached with the offer of a pre-contract agreement to switch clubs at the end of the season. The Spaniard has knocked back that initial approach but will have talks with his agent after today's match with a view to discussing all his options. Joining Rangers is one of them. First he must put all of that out of his mind, play a match and try to impress, well, everyone.

McCoist was asked if he had sympathy for Sandaza's awkward predicament. "I do, of course I do, but everybody has to sit back and accept we're not doing anything wrong," said the Rangers manager. "The rules are there to be abided by and everybody is adhering to them. You have to make St Johnstone aware you're going to make the lad an offer of a pre-contract and that's the way the system works. Is it ideal? No, I don't think it is ideal and Steve will probably be a little bit more upset than I would be. I can totally understand that.

"Could we try to sign him now? I don't know, because I don't know how much St Johnstone would be looking for. I don't know what [chairman] Steve Brown would want so that's a conversation Craig [Whyte, the Rangers owner] will maybe have. I don't know."

Brown is understood to want around £300,000. Even that sum is more than Rangers can comfortably spend, although if Nikica Jelavic is sold during this transfer window the need for a replacement striker would be so acute that Sandaza's arrival may have to be accelerated by an offer before the month is out. "In an ideal world I'd hope to get a couple in [without losing anyone]," said McCoist. "But I think we've all got to accept we're not working in an ideal world at the moment. Our priority is the forward area. I don't have exact figures for how much money we have available but I know roughly where I am. I've got players in my head who I can go and get, and who would hopefully benefit the club."

Rangers' infamous tax hearing re-opens in Edinburgh on Monday. It is scheduled to last for only three days although the outcome will not be known until well after the transfer window has closed, perhaps as late as March. The outcome of that is central to the club's present and their short, medium and long-term future. It is an open secret that if the ruling goes against the club a bill of £35m or more would plunge them into administration. Had that prospect impacted on McCoist's discussions with any potential signing targets? Had anyone asked if he could guarantee they would be paid if they signed, say, a two or three-year contract?

"It's difficult to get players at the best of times but, while the tax case has not made things any easier, it's also not made it any more difficult," he said. "There's nobody who has mentioned the tax case in any discussions we've had with any players or agents.

"I have to say that with the players we're going for at the moment, I'd hope the lure of the club would still be greater than any obvious concerns they might have. I can totally understand the concerns anybody coming to the club could have but thankfully at the moment the people we're speaking to don't seem overly concerned, and I don't mean that in a flippant way."

Kyle Bartley gave a player's perspective on the same issue when he was asked about it at Murray Park yesterday. He is on a season-long loan and is committed to returning to Arsenal and trying to carve out a first-team future there next season, but he was still able to offer some insight into whether a footballer of his age and background might have concerns about signing properly for Rangers given their financial uncertainty. "Maybe players would be keeping an eye on it if they are thinking about signing a long-term contract. But we play football and if you think this is the best place to do that, then you do it."

Rangers could return to the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, at least for a while, if they beat St Johnstone in the 12.30pm kick-off before leaders Celtic take on Dundee United later on. McCoist's side have beaten Motherwell and Arbroath since losing to Celtic on December 28 but it may be that St Johnstone, who left Ibrox with a goalless draw in Lomas's first match in charge in November, will offer a much stiffer test.