Wasps boss Barry Smith has urged his side to savour the moment when they travel to face Glasgow Rangers at Ibrox this weekend.

Alloa came within minutes of beating Ally McCoist’s side back in September at the Indodrill Stadium before David Templeton’s late strike earned his side a draw, but the gaffer believes his men can take heart from that performance.

The former Dundee star knows all about playing in front of a packed crowd at Ibrox Stadium and hopes his squad will relish the chance to perform in such an atmosphere.

Smith told Advertiser sport: “The players should go and make sure they take part in the game. It is important they don’t get over-awed by the big crowd because it is a game and an atmosphere that they should relish playing in.

“These are the games as a player and a manager that you want to be involved in, so they should look forward to going there and not fear being taken over by the experience.

“Rangers are a good team who are formidable on their own patch, but we proved in our home game against them that if we do the right things then we can make it very difficult for them and then when the chances come along we have got to take them.

“Rangers are playing extremely well at the minute, but all we can do is look at that particular game.

“We will focus on ourselves, make sure the players do what is asked of them and if we do that then we know we can make things really competitive for them.” The 40-year-old former Dundee gaffer is delighted with the form of red-hot striker Liam Buchanan (pictured right) and believes the former Partick Thistle star is someone to rely on for this type of fixture, but says his current form is no surprise to him.

Smith said: “I am not surprised by Liam’s good form because I knew what I was signing. I have seen him playing and played against him so I know what he is good at and I knew he would score goals at this level.

“Liam has been magnificent in recent weeks and his experience is crucial to us for the bigger games, but he just has to keep doing what he is doing now.” Meanwhile, Alloa’s Petrofac Training Cup Semi Final showdown with Rangers has been confirmed for Wednesday, 3 December, with a 7.45pm kick off.

The Clackmannanshire outfit also received a further boost when it was also confirmed that the game will be shown live on BBC Alba.