HAVING grown deeply concerned at the dwindling attendances at Ibrox earlier on in the season, nobody at Rangers is suddenly going to get upset by a sell-out crowd.

The promotion hopefuls expect their 51,000-capacity stadium to be full for the second leg of the SPFL Premiership play-off quarter-final against Queen of the South tomorrow.

The Rangers board set all ticket prices at £5 following a public disagreement with the SPFL over allowing season ticket holders in for free and the supporters have taken full advantage of the offer.

Only a few thousand briefs were still available to buy at the close of business last night and club officials are confident they will all be purchased today.

Concerns have been voiced that attracting such a large turnout could actually work against Stuart McCall's side, who hold a narrow 2-1 lead from the first leg, in the rematch with James Fowler's team.

A small section of Rangers fans booed Lee McCulloch, their own centre half and captain, after he had been partially to blame for his side conceding two goals in the Championship match with Falkirk last month.

In the build-up to the fixture this week, several Queens players have admitted their game plan will be to attempt to score early on in order to get the home crowd on the backs of their Rangers counterparts.

However, employees of a club whose serious financial difficulties have been exacerbated by their followers staying away in large numbers during the 2014//15 campaign, are never going to complain about such backing.

Attendances for league games at Ibrox dropped below the 20,000 mark for the first time in over 30 years back in December as supporters showed their displeasure at how Rangers was being run. This, then, is much preferable.

McCall, who took part in many huge domestic and European matches at the Govan ground during his own distinguished playing career back in the 1990s, conceded it could be an intimidating atmosphere.

But he predicted the gate would greatly enhance their prospects of drawing with or defeating Queens and progressing to the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Hibs at home on Wednesday evening.

Asked if he was concerned about the crowd having a negative impact on his charges, McCall said: "I think if we hadn't had gone through the Hearts game last month, I wouldn't have had doubts as such, but I would have been thinking along those lines.

"But there was a really good atmosphere in the Hearts game and think they got a buzz from it. You could tell that listening to them at half-time and full-time. I think it gives us an extra yard in the step.

"Because we've had the experience of that game this season, I think everyone is looking forward to the vibe. Listen, I would much rather we were going out there in front of 50,000 than the 12,000 or 13,000 we had against Raith in the cup."

He added: "I think it's got to help. It works both ways. If they're against you then you go into your shell if you're getting that. If you run over to take a corner and everyone is cheering then it just makes you feel better about yourself. I think you do things better when you feel better about yourself.

"To succeed, everyone needs to be in it and aiming for the same thing. I have said before, we have had ups and downs and we have had highs and lows. That's life, that's football. But to get the best result everyone needs to be behind each other. That is us behind the players, the players behind each other, the fans behind the players.

"The anticipation and excitement will be building. I think we have got experienced players in the side as well. But even the young ones, look at little Andy Murdoch who is getting mature by the day, will relish the atmosphere rather than fear it. And that is what we've got to do."

McCall certainly has no fears about his players, who took the advantage in the fixture thanks to goals from Stevie Smith and Dean Shiels on the synthetic pitch at Palmerston Park last weekend, relaxing with the level of scrutiny they will be under.

"There will be no complacency," he said. "We spoke about it straight after the game. We spoke about it all week. We don't speak in the negative. I just want them to go out and be positive like they have been in most of the games we've played.

"In certain games we've let ourselves down defensively and gave sloppy goals away. But in the majority of games we have always been creative. I think the lads like playing at Ibrox. The surface is in great nick at this time of year. It is a big stadium. It is looking like there is going to be a full house.

"I think our best performance of the season was in the first half against Hearts. The atmosphere was terrific. Hopefully that can be the same thing again."

McCall, who is set to be without McCulloch once again after the former Scotland internationalist failed to recover from injury, reverted to the three man back line he had used so successfully in the win over Hibs at Easter Road back in March against Queens last week.

The 50-year-old, who could theoretically take charge of Rangers for the last time if his team loses, declined to divulge how he would approach a game that is of huge importance to both him and his club.

"As a manager, you always want to be flexible and adaptable and I think the squad of players we've got means we can always change things," he said. "We have played different systems. So whether we start with the same formation or change it as the game progresses, we will look at.

"It is always nice to have players in your side who can adapt as well and we have got that. Obviously, it worked down there. There's a possibility we might go with the same system, but not the same personnel. There's a possibility we might not do either."