HE'S affectionately known as Casper, after the ghost, and occasionally has been referred to by his Scottish team-mates as big death warmed up'.

But Sasa Papac has vowed to display emotion like never before if he gets his hands on the Uefa Cup in Manchester on Wednesday night.

The Bosnian is so quiet and reserved that he takes major stick in the dressing room, midfielder Steven Davis claiming after the semi-final win in Florence that it must have been a big night in the club's history, as Papac broke into party mode.

As the only survivor from the Paul Le Guen wreckage, Papac has had to battle harder than most to cement his place in this Rangers side.

But, slowly but surely, he has won people over with his steady performances.

However, staying calm and assured will not be on the agenda if he can play his part in helping Rangers to their first European glory night since 1972 in Barcelona.

Papac smiled: "I am quite a quiet guy, but I won't be after the game if we have won the Uefa Cup!

"Sometimes the rest of the boys have a laugh with me, but I don't always understand what they are saying.

"It is a massive night for all of us on Wednesday. We will have thousands of our fans there and we just want to win the trophy for everyone involved with the club.

"Of course, it will be a night of emotion. When you walk out on to the field, that's when I think it will hit us that we are in a European final.

"There are bound to be nerves and excitement as well, but it is certainly something I want to enjoy - and that means winning."

Papac has featured in 17 of Gers' 18 European ties this season, a measure of how much faith his manager has placed in him.

He admits that it took him a while to get used to the rough and tumble of the SPL after arriving in a £600,000 move from Austria Vienna, and that the European scene was maybe more his type of thing.

"I have really enjoyed the European matches, it's been a fantastic experience," said the full-back.

"To have played in 17 games is a good personal achievement for me and I am glad that the manager trusts me and wants to play me in these games.

"Hopefully I get picked to play in the final. It will be the biggest game of all our careers, and we know we can go into history if we win."

Zenit, managed by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, have been installed as bookies favourites to emerge victorious in Manchester.

They may have been an unknown quantity until this season, but Papac has been doing some homework of his own ahead of the normal practice of sitting down to go through DVD's over the next couple of days with the rest of the Gers squad.

And he is under no illusions of just how difficult the final will be against a team laced with pace, and full of confidence after scalping both Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the past two rounds.

"I spoke to some people I know in Germany and they were very impressed with the way Zenit played in those matches," Papac explained.

"Leverkusen and Munich are two top sides. I saw some of the highlights of their game against Munich in Russia, and they scored great goals. That was a superb result.

"I also know their defender, Ivica Krizanic, from back in Bosnia. We were at Sirkoki together when we were young players, and he is now with Zenit.

He continued: "He is a good player, although I don't know if he will play in the game. They also have a dangerous player in Arshavin. If he is fit to play, he is quick and can score goals.

"But overall they play well as a team. They don't need to say anything to anyone apart from look at our results' - that says how strong they are.

"Russian football has got much stronger and they can import players they could never buy before. So we know it's going to be tough match."

By his manager's admission, it will also be a match in which Rangers have to try and open out a bit and cause the Russians a problem.

Unlike the previous rounds with the threat of away goals, this is a winner takes all 90 minute showdown. So, while the emphasis will be on keeping it tight and depriving Zenit space to use quick players to cut Rangers open, there has to be a desire to get forward and score.

As Papac says: "It is different as the game is now a Final. We have to use our attacking options, and in players like Nacho Novo and Jean-Claude Darcheville we have pace, too.

"The first goal could be very important as it may dictate the pattern of the game, but we know we have to be positive when we can as the cup is now at stake, not the next round."