LIFE is a pitch for Rangers.

On Saturday, Ally McCoist's side saw their seven-game winning run come to an end on the fake grass of Alloa's newly renamed Indodrill Stadium.

Tonight they take to another plastic pitch at Falkirk hoping it won't derail their bid for League Cup success.

McCoist and his players have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Scotland's synthetic surfaces in the lower leagues and will return to one they have already won on this season against the Bairns.

After turning in two of their best performances of the campaign against Raith and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Rangers were well below par as they ground out a 1-1 draw with the Wasps. The sticky surface was not offered up as an excuse for a slack, sloppy showing, but it is a mitigating circumstance that must be taken into consideration as Rangers failed to find their rhythm.

McCoist said: "Clearly in our team there are boys who are less comfortable than others on those surfaces. Alloa, Queen of the South and Falkirk all have them, but you don't get any two the same. They are different quality and the fabric is different.

"So you have to take into account the different levels of surface when you are picking the team. That goes with the territory. I'm not a great fan of them, but I do understand the economics of some clubs requiring them."

There may be many players in McCoist's ranks who are not too fond of playing on plastic, but some have greater reasons to be fearful than others.

The ankle injury sustained by David Templeton at Annan two years ago was attributed to the 3G surface at Galabank.

Rangers need to cope with the underfoot conditions and see off those teams that stand between them and a place in the Premiership.

But McCoist knows some of his stars, even in their third season in the lower leagues, have yet to find their feet away from the lush green grass of home.

The Gers boss said: "Temps got a horrendous injury two years ago which was certainly down to the surface at Annan.

"He was out for the best part of eight weeks. You'd have to say that probably would be on his mind as well when he goes on that surface.

"Some of our boys maybe look less comfortable on those surfaces than you would hope.

"The bottom line is they might not like the surface, but it's the same for both teams.

"There are no excuses, even if the home team play on it every second week. "

Although Rangers saw their winning run come to a halt at Alloa their unbeaten form continued as they made it eight games without a loss.

Only time will tell how costly the two dropped points will be after Hearts extended their advantage at the top with a 5-1 romp at Cowdenbeath.

McCoist is keen to look to the future. He said: "We have to remember Hearts only took a point at Dumbarton the week before. This could prove to be a very important point for us.

"I was disappointed with the level of our performance yet we still created chances and scored a perfectly good goal to win the game.

"But Alloa also had a chance to make it 2-0. Thankfully we got something out of the game and we'll move on."

HAVING got their league campaign back on track after opening with a loss to the Jambos, Rangers' focus will switch to knockout action this evening.

They saw off Premiership side Inverness last week to reach the third round and set up a meeting with the Bairns.

The expectation levels have risen among fans that there could be some more silverware to join, they hope, the Championship trophy in the Ibrox trophy cabinet this season.

McCoist reckons his side have their best chance yet of winning a cup tournament for the first time since 2011.

Last season Gers reached the Ramsdens Cup Final and Scottish Cup semis but their manager insisted: "I think we now have a stronger squad and a stronger team.

"I think we are better placed than the previous couple of seasons to put a challenge in for one of the trophies.

"Last week's result would seem to indicate that in a one-off game we can compete with the best teams in the country.

"We beat Inverness, who then got a good result at the weekend to remain joint top of the Premiership.

"We are now better placed to go on a cup run and, with a bit of luck, get a chance to win it.

"Our hopes of winning a cup this year would be the same as the likes of Inverness, Dundee and Dundee United.

"That's where I think we are. We still have miles to go but I think we have made improvements on the journey."