STUART MCCALL reckons Saturday's Scottish Cup action will spur two of Rangers' promotion rivals on in the sprint for the Championship finishing line.

The Light Blues moved four points clear of third-placed Hibernian with a 3-1 win at Dumbarton at the weekend as Alan Stubbs' side lost their semi-final clash against Falkirk.

While the Bairns are now dreaming of cup glory, they still have a shot at promotion to the Premiership after Queen of the South were held 2-2 by Alloa.

Before Peter Houston's side head to Ibrox on Saturday, Hibs face Livingston on Wednesday night aiming to close the gap ahead of the final two fixtures this term.

And McCall knows the Hampden joy and heartache will have an inspiring affect for very different reasons on both teams.

He said: "Me and Kenny (Black) will be at the game on Wednesday and we know how tough it will be [for Hibs] because Livingston gave us a really hard game and they are fighting for their lives.

"But Hibs now are out of the cup and their sole focus is trying to get promotion and I am sure that Alan Stubbs will be drumming that into the team.

"We are pleased and we have done what we wanted to do, we have gone four points clear and we will see what Wednesday brings.

"With Queen of the South only drawing, Falkirk will see it if they win their last two games that they can still nick a place in the play-offs.

"Now, the Falkirk players are all playing for a starting place in the final so it will be a tough game next week."

After being held by Livi in midweek, Rangers got their promotion bid back on track at the Rock as 18-year-old Ryan Hardie hit a brace on his first start for the club and Haris Vuckic continued his superb scoring streak.

And boss McCall knows it could have been a far more convincing win for the Light Blues if they had been more clinical in the final third.

He said: "We said before the game we wanted three points and we got them, although it could have been more comfortable. Their keeper got the man of the match award and that says it all.

"We started the game well but didn't take our chances and it was sloppy defending at the back post which gave them the opening goal. We should have been in front at half-time and it wasn't because we were tense or nervous.

"We just had to keep playing because we were creating chances and thankfully we took a couple in the second half. There were a couple of really good performances in there for us."