Neil McCann completed his near #2m transfer from Hearts to Rangers yesterday and could yet make his debut for the Ibrox club back at Tynecastle this weekend, when the teams meet in the

Premier League.

After agreeing a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Glasgow club, the 24-year-old declared that he had had no worries about joining the league leaders, whose signing policy of little more than a decade ago would not have found him an acceptable capture.

Said McCann: ''I had no misgivings whatsoever. When I was told about the deal, I was really excited and I think it maybe took me half a second to make up my mind. As for the supporters, I want them to know that, whenever I signed, I became a Rangers fan and, when I pull that blue jersey over my head, I shall give everything I have got for the team.''

McCann arrives with a massive plus-mark for these supporters. His hero was the late Davie Cooper and McCann admits that he hopes to aspire to the former Rangers winger's wizardry. He recalled: ''I played against him once for Dundee against Clydebank and I nutmegged him. After the game, he walked across the park to congratulate me and say that no-one had ever done that to him before. I would like to think that I could come close to what he achieved at Rangers and that is my ambition.''

While the signing of McCann may have seemed a shock move, it had been a transfer deal that had been nurtured by the Ibrox coach, Dick Advocaat, since last season, when he visited Ibrox and saw Hearts draw 2-2 in a league game, with one of the Edinburgh team's goals coming from the outside left.

Yesterday, Advocaat admitted: ''I wanted to sign Neil from that moment, from the first time I saw him. He is the kind of player I like for that position and, when we learned of his agreement with the club - that he could go if a certain amount of money was offered - then we did not want to allow any other club to come in. I think that will be good for Rangers - and, also, good for Scotland.''

Then he turned to his own transfer policy and pointed out: ''We are always trying to build the squad and that is why we have made this signing. We do not want to be in the position we were in last summer, when so many players left and we had to start with almost a second team. We just want to go on improving the squad of players we have here.

''People talk about spending #25m, but that has been on 12 players, while Manchester United have spent #30m on just three players this season.

''Rangers are a big club and we must keep strengthening the squad until we have the quality players we want. I have to stress that we are talking about a squad of players here and not a first-team only. At this moment, I don't know yet whether Neil will play on Saturday.''

McCann recognises that he will be given a hostile reception from the Tynecastle support, but he is confident that, if that

happens, he will not allow it to deflect him from the job he will be asked to do for his new club.

''It would be a helluva start,'' he smiled yesterday, ''if the manager was to put me straight into the team and the first match is back at my old stomping ground. I'm sure I would get a bit of stick, but I hope the Hearts fans will understand that this is a career move for me. I am going to one of the biggest clubs in Britain and I shall be playing alongside top-quality players and on a bigger stage than Hearts could offer me.

''I have to thank Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown for making me a better player. I'd like to think that I have repaid them during the two-and-a-half years I spent at the club. Now I want to make myself an even better player. I don't think that I am the finished article yet and there is a lot of learning still to be done. But it helps my self-belief that a coach as respected as Dick Advocaat has signed me and has also suggested that I can get into the national side.

''Craig Brown picked me while I was with Hearts and I would like to think that I can convince him to do so again. But, first of all, I have to try to get into the Rangers first team and stay there. That is my priority right now. If I do that then the Scotland chance could follow.''

As for the suggested rivalry between the new man and fans' favourite Jorg Albertz, McCann explained: ''I admire Jorg as a player and it would be nice to think that I would be playing alongside him.

''I have admired him a lot since he arrived at Rangers. I don't see myself as a rival for his position. That kind of thing was said when I went to Hearts and people were saying that I was going to take over from Alan Johnston and I said then - and the same thing applies now - that I am a different player, not a replacement, and I am coming in to do whatever job I am asked to do.''

This weekend may tell us what Advocaat has in mind for the new boy.

In the meantime, McCann's first senior club, Dundee, will benefit from the transfer. They had an agreement with Hearts when they were forced to sell the player to ease their debts that they would pick up 25% of any future fee over the #200,000 they received from the Edinburgh side. That will see something like #500,000 arriving at Dens Park.

Rangers could be without team captain Lorenzo Amoruso as well as full back Arthur Numan for their visit to Tynecastle on Saturday after the Italian limped out of Ibrox yesterday following training.

Numan was injured against Kilmarnock and now has a light plaster on his ankle. He had the damaged ankle X-rayed yesterday but will require a further one when he returns to hospital on Thursday. He will not play against Hearts but could still be fit enough to take part in the

holiday programme of games.

If Amoruso is also missing at the weekend, Rangers would have serious problems in defence as Scott Wilson is still suspended.

Meanwhile, Linfield midfielder Lee Feeney will finally complete his move to Ibrox later this week and his current manager, David Jeffrey, last night breathed a huge sigh of relief as he watched the on-off transfer take its toll on his young player.

''I'll be delighted when the deal is done and dusted because the last few weeks have been very unsettling for Lee,'' said Jeffrey.

''There has been so much speculation and it was obviously starting to get to him. It was clear from his performances that his mind was on other things.''

Such is his admiration for the 21-year-old, Jeffrey firmly believes that the Ibrox club will land a player with skill reminiscent of flawed genius George Best. ''I've worked with a lot of

talented players in my time, but Lee is the pick of the bunch as far as I'm concerned,'' said Jeffrey.

''He's also quite similar to George O'Boyle because he's got good technique and is good on the ball. But he's also got great physical strength and will be well suited to Scottish football.''