Rangers 2

Aberdeen 0

Rangers' final preparations for Saturday's Scottish Cup showpiece provided more questions than answers for Alex McLeish. Rest and recuperation was the order of the day at Ibrox and, irrespective of the unfamiliar look to the line-up, there was sufficient steel if not style to break down Aberdeen's resistance.

Stefan Klos, Lorenzo Amoruso, Peter Lovenkrands, and Arthur Numan were all given the day off in the hope of revitalising them for the Old Firm final, but it was those who returned to the team from the treatment table who provided the Ibrox manager with a minefield of dilemmas.

Craig Moore, Claudio Caniggia, Barry Ferguson, Ronald de Boer, Neil McCann, and Shota Arveladze were all summoned to start having recovered - medically at least - from an array of ailments, but McLeish's insistence that ''if there is a doubt, there is no doubt'' in terms of his final selection it remains to be seen who will have convinced him of their worthiness of a place in next week's starting XI.

Moore was solid if understandably sluggish by the end of his first match in three months, but a combination of factors will be considered before a decision is taken on the extent of his participation in the derby. He will see the club physio early this week to report any reaction to the hamstring tear which consigned him to the treatment table since the CIS Insurance Cup semi-final against Celtic.

Considered one half of Rangers' first-choice central partnership alongside Amoruso, McLeish is understandably keen to utilise Moore's experience of such occasions. However, any hankering to have him play must be weighed against the threat posed by Henrik Larsson. Moore's sharpness - or lack of it - was rarely tested by the Dons attack, and as McLeish will doubtless spend the rest of the week mulling over Moore's condition, he will do so with the comforting contingency of Robert Malcolm's return to form and favour, again demonstrated effectively on Saturday.

Ferguson is perhaps the only certain starter of the half-dozen hopefuls. Aside from the occasional touchline rib-rub, the captain appeared unincumbered by the ailment, and along with Christian Nerlinger - no stranger to the treatment room himself - will go head-to-head with Neil Lennon and Paul Lambert in a potentially match-winning midfield battle.

Caniggia, who will discover shortly whether his renaissance will be rewarded with a World Cup call-up by Argentina at the age of 35, looked slippery and sleek until a toe injury ended his involvement, but a tactical reshuffle by the manager may leave him sweating on a place.

Replaced by Tore Andre Flo, Arveladze was moved out wide from his central berth and looked more comfortable and creative, darting dangerously from the right in support of the Norwegian.

McCann did his chances little harm, either, with a scoring return straight from a corner kick and more purposeful wing play than he has produced for some time. Whether he has done enough to displace Lovenkrands, the dashing Dane, on the left remains to be seen, but one of them may end up partnering Flo in a two-pronged attack.

Of all the players returning, Ronald de Boer - suffering from a broken toe - was the least effective. He required painkilling injections before the game and at half-time but contributed little and his lack of match fitness is likely to be deemed a risk not worth taking by McLeish.

''It was good that most of the guys coming back played 90 minutes. They needed that,'' said the manager, after a typically drab end-of-season non-event.

''It's never easy to pick a cup final team, and come selection time there will be a few Alex McLeish haters but it's part and parcel of the job and I will check their progress this week before making my mind up.''

The concentration wandered during a forgettable first half. Indeed, the only real talking point before McCann opened the scoring was a thicker thatch on the head of Dick Advocaat, Rangers' director of football.

Having already undergone the same hair transplant procedure as the prematurely balding John Hartson, it seemed the former manager made a trip to the specialist during his return to Holland on international duty.

Though Rangers enjoyed almost exclusive access to the ball during the first half, it took them until 41 minutes before a tangible reward was found.

Taking the Dons defence by surprise, McCann's inswinger had all the bend of a Beckham special. Although the near post was tended by Darren Young, the Aberdeen captain was helpless to halt the ball as it arced over the line.

The second half was equally monotonous, and only a second goal 10 minute from time stifled the yawns. De Boer's only real contribution of the afternoon was a precise pass to Flo, which left the Norwegian with the simple task of dispatching the ball past Ryan Esson from eight yards. Be it rustiness, having just come on in place of Caniggia, or poor poaching, Flo pounded his shot off a post but Ferguson was on hand to spare him any embarrassment by bundling it home.

As is usually the case on these occasions, Ebbe Skovdahl was left to defend his side's negativity. ''I asked them to create chances but they were not positive enough,'' he said. ''Usually these games are a lot more intense.'' Rangers, understandably, had more important matters on their minds.