Sunday Mirror: Football: RUSSIAN ROULETTE

ALEX McLEISH will demand blood and sweat from his players against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, to avoid shedding Champions League tears. The stakes couldn't be higher for Rangers with Alex Rae's appeal tomorrow against a five- game ban adding extra tension to the build- up. Seven players were booked in the stormy first leg with both clubs desperate to get their hands on the riches of the Champions League.

McLeish said: "Getting through is the main thing. If we take a couple of bookings I would gladly sacrifice that to get through to the Champions League."Qualifying against Copenhagen last year was like winning a cup final because of what it brought to the club. "It was a great achievement, we never got anything tangible for it like a trophy but we did get the financial rewards of the Champions League. We're in for a hard, hard game against CSKA but it's all about qualifying, they can set their stall out to sit in but it's up to us to break them down. "We do have midfield problems with Alex Rae and Dragan Mladenovic.

Last year we had a midfield of Mikel Arteta, Barry Ferguson and Christian Nerlinger, who started last season very strongly and was a good, experienced player. "But you might say we've grown stronger in other areas since last year. "The timing of the Champions League comes early for Scottish clubs. We have to try to get Dragan in as quick as we can, but bear in mind that we don't want to push him ahead of his time. "He is fit and doing the work, but what he's short of is power, stamina and the sharpness that comes with match practice. With Rae absent and a question mark over Mladenovic, McLeish's options are more limited than he would have liked.

A goal at any stage will be enough to take Rangers through - provided they keep the Russians out - but opening up the CSKA defence won't be easy. An on-form Chris Burke would be a dangerous weapon for McLeish to call upon but the young winger hasn't been seen since the opening day of the season at Aberdeen. Burke's appearance at Pittodrie ended when he was carted off on a stretcher after appearing to suffer from dehydration. Further investigations, however, have revealed a viral problem with McLeish unlikely to be able to call upon him. McLeish revealed: "Chris has a virus and hasn't trained for 10 days. It has taken a lot out of him, he's lost weight and is feeling very weak. "I wouldn't say Burke has no chance for Wednesday but it's unlikely he's going to start the game."