It took Allan McGregor long enough to win over Paul Le Guen. Now the recently installed Rangers first-choice goalkeeper has to prove himself all over again to the new manager, Walter Smith.

McGregor has had an eventful campaign back at Ibrox after a fruitful season-long loan at Dunfermline. Ironically, he could easily have been lining up against Rangers at Ibrox this afternoon had Dundee United not been priced out of a move during the summer.

Even after Ronald Waterreus' decision to leave after a year, McGregor's prospects looked bleak when Lionel Letizi was installed as No.1 while Stefan Klos completed his recuperation from shoulder surgery.

McGregor was an able deputy when Letizi injured his back but threatened to leave when demoted as soon as the Frenchman returned to fitness, sparking a public backlash. Letizi then injured his groin and has since found Klos taking over as back-up.

For all the travails, the Scot declared himself to be indebted to Le Guen and is ready to convince Smith of his worth.

"He gave me my chance initially because everybody was injured - he had to play me," he said.

"Lionel started the season, got injured, and then came straight back in. He got injured again and I kept my place, so in that respect I owe him Le Guen for giving me a chance second time around.

"I feel I have been consistent up to now and, hopefully, I can do the business for the new manager."

Rangers face United today having taken only 19 points out of a possible 36 from teams in the bottom six.

It is a statistic that McGregor is at a loss to explain but regardless, he now believes the feelgood factor has returned since Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall took training on Wednesday morning.

"I do not have a clue how to explain it," he said. "Walter came in and made a few fair points but the bottom line is we are possibly playing for our futures now.

"Ally and Kenny took training on Wednesday and it was really enjoyable. We had some shooting practice after training and it was fun, with Ally telling them what to do, but the strikers still couldn't score."