THE Rangers manager, Alex McLeish, has urged his depleted squad to prove their mettle as the loss of fitness and form continues to undermine the club's domestic and European ambitions.

Tuesday night's 3-0 defeat against Manchester United came with considerable cost. Not only is qualification for the UEFA Cup now the most realistic hope of a sustained European run, but core injuries are having a debilitating effect on a team already trimmed out of financial necessity.

Craig Moore has been hampered by hamstring trouble for months and, having succumbed to the acute discomfort during the defeat at Old Trafford, the club captain will again be sidelined for the visit to Kilmarnock. The very nature of the injury is such that rest remains the best cure.

However, with Rangers so perilously positioned in Champions League Group E and, for that matter, the Bank of Scotland Premierleague, McLeish can ill-afford to be without the one inspirational figure left after the departures of Lorenzo Amoruso and Barry Ferguson to Blackburn.

Ronald De Boer, who along with Ferguson plundered goals and pulled strings to great effect last season, is currently in Holland seeking a short-term solution to a long-standing knee ailment.

McLeish received news yesterday that cartilage fragments were found in the 33-year-old's knee, which, considering the surgery administered during nearly 15 years in the top flight, must now resemble a rotting apple core. He will play again, but not in the near future and, in any case, the suspicion remains that last season was his last significant contribution.

''It's better than we first thought,'' said the manager yesterday. ''Ronald requires keyhole surgery to remove the floating cartilage. If we get him back at some stage then it will be a help, but we can't put a timescale on it.''

The long-term prospects are only marginally brighter for Moore. McLeish says of his brittle Australian cornerstone: ''If he thinks he's frustrated he should sit in my seat. He is having trouble sprinting and has not felt strong. It's an awkward situation that may mean picking and choosing his games, but the back

four is not an area I like to keep disrupting.''

As it is, McLeish will have to tinker again against an embattled Kilmarnock side and he has challenged those who will be promoted out of necessity to justify their inclusion. He said: ''The team I played in would always bounce back and this is an opportunity for our players to let the fans see they care.''