STUART McCall has revealed he expects Shane Ferguson to arrive at Rangers on loan next week and has refused to rule out the possibility of the Northern Ireland internationalist aiding the Ibrox club's push for promotion.

 

Ferguson was one of five Newcastle United players farmed out to Rangers for the remainder of the 2014/15 season in controversial circumstances back in February before Derek Llambias had been ousted at chief executive.

Only two members of the quintet - Haris Vuckic and, briefly, Remi Streete - have featured for the Glasgow club and it has emerged they are paying £5,000-a-week for their services and will be due their English counterparts a £500,000 bonus if they secure a place in the SPFL Premiership.

However, Ferguson, the 18-times capped 23-year-old who has been recovering from a knee operation, is expected to travel to Scotland in the coming days and interim manager McCall has admitted he could play for his side.

"I've not spoken to anyone at Newcastle, but the doc has and the physios have," said McCall "I think he (Ferguson) has coming up for two weeks of training under his belt and is due up next week.

"As I have said before, that will have him been out for I think six months. He got the injury in October and the operation in November.

"If he has only done two weeks training you would imagine, unless he is one of these lads who is really fit and can come straight back into it, he will need at least three or four under-20s games. But we will see when he comes up.

"When I first got the job I was looking forward to working with him because I do know of him. I saw him at Birmingham and I saw him at Newcastle. But when you have been out with a knee injury for five or six months it is difficult to get up to speed as quickly as we need.

"But, listen, if he comes in next week and is ready to train and impresses then obviously he is one who will come in for consideration."

McCall, whose side take on Queen of the South in a Championship match at Palmerston Park tonight, is certainly in need of reinforcements due to the number of Rangers players who are currently unavailable.

Kevin Mbabu and Stevie Smith have both suffered fresh injuries in training this week and have joined Jon Daly, Seb Faure, Richard Foster, Lee McCulloch, Streete and Tom Walsh on the sidelines. "We actually have eight out unavailable," said McCall.

Meanwhile, Vuckic, the Slovenian internationalist who has impressed greatly during his time with Rangers, last night dismissed speculation he will part company with Newcastle in the summer.

However, the 22-year-old has stressed he remains open to the possibility of returning to Ibrox if he continues not to feature at the Barclays Premier League club in the future.

Vuckic has one year remaining on his contract at St. James's Park - but a newspaper report this week quoted him as saying he would leave at the end of the campaign.

That raised hopes among Rangers supporters that the midfielder, who has scored six goals in just 10 competitive outings since arriving in Scotland in February, could extend his stay in Glasgow.

The one-time AC Milan target, though, has stressed he will return to England following the SPFL Premiership play-off matches next month.

"I have a year left at Newcastle, but it is nonsense that I have said I am going to quit," he commented. "I never said that.

"I still respect Newcastle because I have a year left there. And I also respect Rangers because I have a loan deal here.

"We will see what is going to happen in the transfer window and what Newcastle have to say. I will get options and I have to take the option that is best for me.

"Rangers would be a good option for me because I'm really enjoying my football here. I'm scoring goals, playing well and the fans like me. It would be a great option for me.

"I will have to speak to Newcastle and see what their plan is and then see what is best for me."

Vuckic has played for Newcastle only sporadically since signing for them aged just 16 in 2009 and has spent spells at Cardiff and Rotherham on loan.

But he admitted that, after doing so well at Rangers in the second half of this season, it would be difficult for him to not to be involved in the first team regularly in the future.

"That wouldn't be the best option for me," he said. "Playing first team football is very different from the Under-21s, where you basically play with the kids. You want to play at a bigger, stronger level.

"In football you have to take a step back to go forward. I feel from Newcastle to Rangers on loan I took that step back but now I want to go forward.

"If I go back to play under-21 games with Newcastle I would go even more back. I just have to see what happens in the summer, but I want to play first team football."