BILEL MOHSNI has vowed to curb his hothead behaviour following his sending off in the pre-season clash with Derby.

The Rangers defender was shown a straight red card for a lunging headbutt on Rams striker Chris Martin during the Light Blues' 2-0 defeat earlier this month.

In his absence, Lee McCulloch, Marius Zaliukas and Darren McGregor have all turned out at the back for Ally McCoist's side as they have beaten Hibernian and lost their Championship opener against Hearts.

And Mohsni knows he has to keep a cool head if he is to become a key part of McCoist's plans this season.

He said: "I was very, very upset with myself at Derby and I acted stupidly. When we gave the second goal away it was my fault and I didn't defend well after.

"It wasn't about their player who tackled me, it was more about myself and I reacted badly. I'm very sorry to the fans and my team-mates about that.

"Hopefully I can come back into the side but one of the problems when you get suspended is other players can do well in your place.

"If they get into the manager's head, he could put them first so all I can do is train hard and try to win my place.

"If I get my chance, I will do my best to show I am worthy of it and attempt to keep it for the rest of the season.

"Of course, I had suspensions last season and I don't want any more. I need to keep my temper, stay cool and make sure I don't get sent off again.

"It is very hard for me to be off the pitch when games are taking place and I would rather be on it so I will do my best to stay involved."

Mohsni is available for selection when Rangers face Falkirk on Friday night as the champions look to get their second tier title bid back on track following a poor performance against the Jambos.

He faces a fight to get back into the team and is determined not to allow opposition provocation to spark a reaction in the future.

"I will keep what happened in my mind because I know all the players in our league will try to wind me up," he told rangers.co.uk

"They might kick me or elbow me but I will be ready for that and I will try just to defend well and keep clean sheets, score if I can and win games for Rangers.

"I know players do that all the time but I didn't expect it in a friendly game. I want to show everyone I can do better than I did at Derby."