KENNY BLACK hopes Rangers will be best under pressure when they face Queen of the South this weekend.

The Light Blues head to Palmerston with their Premiership dream on the line as they look to record their first win of the campaign in Dumfries.

Rangers have crashed to 2-0 and 3-0 defeats to the Doonhamers already this season and will need to earn a positive result if they are to give themselves a chance of reaching the play-off semi-final against Hibernian.

And Ibrox assistant boss Black is confident his side can rise to the occasion and keep their promotion hopes alive this weekend.

He said: "Hopefully this pressurised situation will bring out the best in us. We have a lot of experienced players and staff, and it is up to us to go and retaliate first.

"Queen of the South have a terrific home record. They've had 13 home victories in the league this season so we have to make sure we combat that.

"With a two-legged affair then hopefully we can come back with an advantage or, at the very minimum, still be on level terms with the 90 minutes to come at Ibrox.

"We certainly wouldn't like to come back with the two previous results we have had there as that would put us under extreme pressure."

Rangers head into the Queens clash having recorded just one win in their last four matches as they threw away second place in the Championship.

The Palmerston plastic pitch has caused the Light Blues problems this season, as have similar synthetic surfaces over the last two title-winning campaigns.

And Black knows the Gers will have to manage the conditions and the tie to the best of their ability to ensure they have a chance heading into the second leg at Ibrox next weekend.

"It is a different type of approach to the game and we don't necessarily need to win the game at Palmerston in the first half," he told rangers.co.uk

"We need to be mindful the fact there is 180 minutes of football and there will be little twists and turns along the way.

"The preparation with regards to Queens' personnel will not change, but we will go over the last game we played down there and the games we have played against them at Ibrox.

"The players are well versed in what they have to offer and training won't change dramatically.

"The lads have all played on the plastic surface this season, so it is not something we are going to treat lightly. We may have half an hour on it, but it won't matter too much.

"The approach to the game and the start of the game is more important."