ARNOLD Peralta has admitted that being ruled out of the Ramsdens Cup final later on this season has left him "devastated".

The Rangers midfielder picked up his second booking of the competition in the semi-final against Stenhousemuir at Ochilview last Tuesday night.

That will rule him out of the showdown with SPFL Championship club Raith Rovers at Easter Road next April.

Missing the chance to play in what will be a massive match for the Glasgow club - a sell-out crowd is expected in the capital - has saddened him.

However, the 24-year-old, who is set to travel to Brazil with Honduras for the World Cup finals next summer, has vowed to make amends for the setback.

He wants to help Ally McCoist's team, who take on Dunfermline at Ibrox tomorrow night, win the SPFL League One as quickly as possible and take another step towards the top flight.

Peralta said: "At the time I never realised I was going to be suspended for the final after picking up two yellow cards.

"It wasn't until after the match in the dressing room when the manager told me that I couldn't play. This is very painful for me. I'm devastated, actually, and I can't get over it.

"I would have loved to have been involved in the game. It would have been my first cup final as a Rangers player. There is nothing I can do about it now.

"I don't know if I would have preferred to have known before the game that I was only one booking away. You still have to play your normal game but it is a difficult one for me to take.

"I've played in a number of finals and semi-finals back home in Honduras and it would have been nice to have played in this one for Rangers."

Speaking to the official Rangers website, he added: "But we are also going for the league title and that is the aim for everyone at Rangers. We are unbeaten in the league so far and we want to keep that going.

"We want to continue moving up the divisions and eventually get back into the top flight."