Ally McCoist will turn to David Templeton to inject some zest into his Rangers team tomorrow.

The Light Blues were knocked out of the Scottish Communities League Cup during the week when they were soundly beaten 3-0 by Inverness Caley Thistle at Ibrox. It is the second cup competition of the season Rangers have been dumped out of after being eliminated from the Ramsdens Cup by Second Division Queen of the South.

And, despite eventually moving to the top of the Third Division, a number of the performances in the league have been well short of what McCoist has demanded of his team.

But he is now hoping the return of Templeton will prove the catalyst in increasing the quality of his team's attacking play as the winger prepares to make his top team return tomorrow afternoon against Alloa.

McCoist knows he must avoid crashing out of the Scottish Cup to prevent further heat on him and is hoping to hand the man he signed from Hearts on the final day of the transfer window a starting slot.

Templeton made an immediate impact at Rangers when he netted a double on his debut in a 5-1 win over Elgin City but he suffered ankle ligament damage in his next match at Annan on September 15.

The 23-year-old hasn't kicked a ball since and McCoist was desperately hoping he would have been ready to feature against Caley Thistle during the week but it was just too soon for the player.

However, with the prospect of not having any involvement in the cup competitions beyond Christmas were they to lose at home to Paul Hartley's side, McCoist is now ready to take a chance and deploy Templeton.

McCoist said: "I lost my argument with the medical staff for the League Cup game and I don't mind losing the odd fight.

"But I'm very hopeful of having some good news regarding him nearer the end of the week ahead of the Alloa game. Again, the medics might say otherwise, but that is not what I am saying.

"He's back in training, back running and looking okay. He felt a bit of tightness this week, but that is just as a result of being out of action for a few weeks and was nothing to do with the injury."