ALLY McCOIST was ­delighted to see Fraser Aird make the most of his chance to shine after he turned on the style against Clyde on Monday.

After a frustrating pre-season that saw him miss games in the Gers' tour of America and Canada, the winger changed the game on Friday night as McCoist's side dug deep to see off Falkirk.

He was rewarded with a starting berth for the Petrofac Cup clash with Barry Ferguson's side at Ibrox and did his chances of more first-team action no harm at all.

He got his name on the scoresheet with a low shot in the first half as Rangers eased to an 8-1 triumph though he came off before the end after suffering a knock.

McCoist said: "He was really bright when he came on and deserved his chance … He made a ­couple of goals going down the outside and coming inside. I thought he did really well. He got a whack right on the part of the muscle where he got a kick over in North America."

With a third-round place in the cup confirmed, Rangers return to the Championship this week when they host Dumbarton.

McCoist is determined to use their much-improved showing against the Bully Wee as the springboard for a successful run through some crucial weeks.

He said: "We're hoping the confidence is rising a bit … we were thrilled with the level of performance and the goals we scored against Clyde.

"I just hope we can kick on. We've some good games coming up, with Queen's Park away in the League Cup next week.

"We've also got Dumbarton and Queen of the South coming to Ibrox in the league so it's a busy but exciting period for us."