FERNANDO RICKSEN may have left Rangers under a cloud after falling foul of former boss Paul Le Guen - but he hopes it's lifted since then.

The controversial Dutchman didn't exactly endear himself to the Ibrox faithful when he crocked Chris Burke in a friendly against his former club a few months after departing for Russia.

But he hopes the Light Blue legions will remember the contribution he made to the club during his time in Glasgow when he takes the field for Zenit tonight.

"I hope I get a good reception from the Rangers supporters," admitted Ricksen. "That would be nice, as I enjoyed a lot of good moments in Glasgow.

"There will be thousands of Rangers supporters inside the stadium and, of course, it would be a nice feeling if they applaud me or whatever. But they are there to support their team and I am here to hopefully help Zenit win the match."

Ricksen also admitted he's delighted to have an opportunity to face Rangers in a competitive game for the first time since quitting the club, but he has made it clear there will be no old pals' act as he prepares to take on former team-mate Barry Ferguson.

He said: "I'm looking forward to the game and I was delighted when it was confirmed we would play Rangers in the final.

"There have been a lot of changes there since I left, but I still have some friends at the club and this is a great achievement for them to reach the Uefa Cup Final.

"However, I'll feel very happy if we were to defeat them. We are looking forward to the game and all the players are very excited about playing in a major European final. We have performed really well to get to this stage and now we just want to make that one last step and win the competition."