IAN MURRAY insists there are no guarantees Rangers or Hibernian will escape from the Championship this season as the promotion race enters the home straight.

The Light Blues head into their clash with Murray's Dumbarton this afternoon a point clear of their Leith rivals in the second-tier standings.

With Queen of the South also on course to clinch a top-four spot, the stage is set for an unpredictable shootout in the play-offs as Motherwell and Ross County look to avoid finishing 11th in the top tier.

While Hearts have stormed to title glory, Rangers and Hibs have found the going tougher in the Championship as both struggled for form.

And Rock boss Murray reckons there is every possibility only one of the big three will return to the Premiership this season.

He said: "It is great for Queens and Falkirk to be able to compete over the games so far, but the likes of ourselves, Alloa, Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath have acquitted ourselves well, too.

"Rangers and Hibs have more quality, but it has been a wake-up call for the people who thought it would be a walkover every week for them. That has not been the case.

"There have been high scores, but then you look at Queens beating Rangers 3-0 and nobody would have predicted that at the start of the season.

"There are no guarantees for Rangers or Hibs. If Queens can replicate their performance of last week in a play-off game then they would have to be favourites to progress to the final and face the Premiership team.

"There are a lot of twists and turns to come, but you could be looking at facing a Motherwell team that has found a bit of form.

"People talk about the Ibrox and Easter Road factor, but if you go to Fir Park and there is a good crowd in, it is a tight ground with a lot of atmosphere.

"I would say the odds are still in the Premiership teams' favour at the moment."

While it is all to play for in the promotion battle in the coming weeks, Dumbarton head into the Rangers clash with only pride at stake after securing their Championship status.

Murray's side were narrowly beaten by Hibs at the Rock earlier this month, but have also slipped to 3-0 defeats to part-time rivals Alloa and Cowdenbeath in recent weeks.

And the Sons boss hopes his players will rise to the occasion when Stuart McCall's side arrive this afternoon.

Murray said: "If we can play to the level of the Hibs game, then I will have no complaints if we win, lose or draw. What we can't do is slip to the levels of the Cowdenbeath and Alloa games.

"It is a good game for us to have at this stage of the season. Rangers are playing for something and it will raise the determination levels. We haven't taken anything from Rangers yet, so there is an incentive there for us.