DEAN SHIELS trudged dejectedly off the artificial pitch at the Indodrill Stadium with the abuse of Rangers fans ringing in his ears.

Shiels and his Gers team-mates had been unable to prevent part-time Alloa coming from 2-0 down to dump them out of the Petrofac Training Cup.

The 3-2 defeat was the worst result of Ally McCoist's reign as manager and one of the worst results in the 142-year history of the Ibrox club.

And the travelling support - those of them, that is, who had remained inside the ground until the final whistle - did not hide their anger.

It was a painful experience that Northern Ireland internationalist Shiels is not likely to forget in a hurry - if at all.

However, the match against Barry Smith's side last Wednesday night had been a huge step in the right direction for the forward from a personal perspective.

It was his first real chance to stake a claim for a regular first-team place since the 3-1 defeat to Hibs at Ibrox way back at the end of September.

The 29-year-old had featured as a second half substitute in cup games against East Fife away and Kilmarnock at home in the last two months.

Yet, when he took over from Lewis Macleod, who pulled his hamstring after just 10 minutes, it was an opportunity to show his manager exactly what he was capable of.

Despite the humiliating reverse to Alloa and the subsequent protests in the stands, the former Hibs, Doncaster Rovers and Kilmarnock player certainly did that.

He stroked home a composed second-half goal which should really have ensured his side's safe passage to the final of the Petrofac Training Cup in April.

And he netted a second-half winner, with a little help from opposing player Nat Wedderburn, in the SPFL Championship game against Cowdenbeath on Saturday.

Shiels should now feature in the massive league match against third-placed Queen of the South down at Palmerston Park on Friday night.

Having fallen out of favour at the League One champions this season, he is enjoying being involved once again despite the difficulties the team has experienced.

And the forward has revealed how he steadfastly refused to let his head go down when he was being overlooked for a place by his manager on a weekly basis.

"It has definitely been difficult not playing," he said. "I think a bit of emotion came out on Wednesday night when I scored my goal. Sadly, it didn't help us get the result we wanted.

"But I have just tried to be professional. Not playing is part and parcel of being at any club. When you aren't in the team the only way to get into the team is by working hard in training."

McCoist, whose position has come under increasing scrutiny in the aftermath of the embarrassing loss to football minnows Alloa, paid a special tribute to Shiels last week.

And the 14-times capped player has stressed that he will always be ready to slot into the Rangers starting line-up - whether it is from the start or during the 90 minutes.

He added: "The manager knows exactly what he will get from me. I always work as hard as I can during the week to prepare for the games even though I am not featuring in the team.

"It means that if I am called on by the manager I am ready to help the team. It means that when I do go into the team I can perform at a decent standard and help us get results."

Rangers struggled to bounce back from the loss to Alloa against second-bottom Cowdenbeath at home at the weekend and only secured victory by the narrowest of margins.

And with the score deadlocked at 0-0 at half-time the Gers players were booed off the park for the second time in four days by the home supporters in the 28,137-strong crowd.

But Shiels revealed he has no problems whatsoever with fans venting their frustration - as he is firmly of the opinion it is in the side's power to get them onside.

He said: "If we take our chances up front and score goals then the fans won't boo us. It is in our own hands to get the supporters behind us by playing well and killing teams off.

"We had chances to score in both the first half and the second half at the weekend, myself included, and didn't take them. We have to be more clinical up front in the future.

"With Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller, Jon Daly and Nicky Clark in the squad we have certainly got enough players in the team who know how to hit the target. It shouldn't be a problem for us.

"Every player in the team, in fact, is capable of scoring goals for us, from defence right through to attack, and has weighed in with goals for the team at some stage this season.

"I think that teams and players just go through phases in a campaign when things are not falling for them in front of goal and we are obviously experiencing that at the moment.

"But we are all confident in our own ability and I am sure we will score a few some time soon - hopefully in the game that we have coming up with Queen of the South on Friday."