Alloa Athletic boss Barry Smith says his men are focused on the task at hand as they look to shock Glasgow giants Rangers for a third time this season as the sides clash in tonight’s (Wednesday) Petrofac Training Cup semi-final.

The Wasps have home advantage as they welcome Ally McCoist’s men to the Indodrill Stadium for the club’s first major semi-final in over a decade, and the manager said the aim is to reach the final.

The former Dundee boss is well aware of the threat the Light Blues have in their side having been in attendance for their 3-0 Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock on Sunday, but he is confident his players can stand up to the challenge.

Smith told Advertiser sport: “It is the first time in 13 years the club has been in a semi-final, but we don’t want to end it at this stage and we want to make it an even better achievement by getting to the final. We know how difficult a task that will be against a Rangers side that have just knocked a Premiership club out of the Scottish Cup. I was at the game when they beat Kilmarnock on Sunday, they had to play well to win the game and that shows just what we are up against on Wednesday night. In terms of the big occasion and the game being live on TV, as a player you tend to forget about these things once the game gets underway and it is just about going out to perform on the night.

"We have had two great results against them which no one expected. To draw with them at Alloa and then repeat the feat at Ibrox is something that we can take a massive amount of confidence from because we weren’t expected to get anything. If we can perform to the same capabilities then we will give ourselves a great chance, but that doesn’t take away from the massive task facing us of going up against Rangers in the semi-final of a cup.” Smith believes that being such huge underdogs for the match is something that his squad are well used to because they compete in an SPFL Championship filled with full-time clubs on a weekly basis.

The Clackmannanshire outfit had fellow second tier side Hibernian hanging on for dear life at the end of their Scottish Cup clash last weekend as Alloa laid siege to their goal in the closing stages, and the gaffer says that it proves they have the fitness levels to match Rangers in the same manner.

He said: “We are the huge underdogs again for the match, but that is something that we deal with on a week-to-week basis in the Championship. We are a part-time club playing in a full-time league and the expectation is that we should lose, but we have handled that well so far in terms of the league and we have to continue that trend if we are to realise the massive achievement of getting to the final.

"We are light on numbers at the minute, but the players are all in there fighting for each other and I think last weekend’s game against Hibs highlights the fitness levels of my players matching them to the final moment. They are willing to fight for everything and we have had to do that for everything we have got this season and I think that stands us in good stead. We just need more of the same against Rangers and I am fully confident that we will get that performance.” The 40-year-old is under no illusions of the task facing his squad in the match and admits they will need some good fortune on top of a good display if they are to progress.

Smith added: “When you play a team like Rangers you have to produce a great performance, but you also will need a little bit of luck and hopefully we get that. They have a squad full of players with Premier League experience at the moment so we have to be prepared to match that once again like we have in the previous games against them.”