GORDON Dalziel has insisted that Ally McCoist is quite right to take a punt on a couple of unknowns at Ibrox.

The Rangers manager brought 21-year-old Francesco Stella to the club after the Australian was released by Italian side Siena.

Added to Brazilian defender Emilson Cribari, Frenchamn Sebastien Faure and Greek right-back Anestis Argyriou, Stella is a player whom few will have any idea just what he is capable of. In adding to a clutch of unknowns, McCoist has gone down the tried and tested route in the transfer market, bringing in strong SPL players who know the Scottish game inside out.

The likes of Dean Shiels, Ian Black, Kevin Kyle, David Templeton and Francisco Sandaza have been added to the ranks as Rangers now prepare for a 12-month transfer embargo. But while few Ibrox punters will know anything about Stella, that can often be no bad thing.

"Look at what Celtic have done in recent years," said Dalziel. "Who really knew much about Beram Kayal or Victor Wanyama? Yet they have become big, big players here. Whenever Celtic decide to cash in on them, they'll get a good return – just as they did with Ki Sung-Yueng.

"Also the likes of Tony Watt, who has made such an impression this season. Celtic bought him from Airdrie for a song and no-one had really heard anything about the lad.

"Why should it be any different for Rangers? I'm sure the club must have seen something in these lads in order to have brought them to the club. They must think they can fit into the team at some stage.

"It is a bit of a gamble, but it is one that is worth taking. If Stella turns out to adapt to our game then Ally will have won a watch.

"The thing is, as every manager knows, every signing is a gamble. You can never predict how well someone will settle into your team or into your league.

"For much of the time you just have to go with your gut feeling and every manager in the game will have signed players that don't work out. It's just part of the way it goes."

"A big part of how some of the signings will fare will rest on just how they adapt to life in the Irn-Bru Third Division. The pace of the game is different to the top flight, but the demands to win every outing remain the same.

"The likes of the young lads who have come in that no-one knows too much about, you really need them to learn the ropes quickly in terms of getting used to the demands of the league and the demands of the club," said Dalziel.

The Third Division has so far not provided the kind of plain sailing that everyone had predicted for the Ibrox club.

Few would expect them to do anything other than wrap up the Third Division title by Christmas, but there are one or two hiccups that do need to be ironed out.

THE club have yet to clock up a win on the road, something that has inevitably irked McCoist.

"I'm tired of hearing the old cup-final line trotted out every week," said Dalziel. "We all know that for these teams the games against Rangers are massive, but Rangers have enough class that it should be an irrelevance.

"If Rangers match these teams for commitment and energy, then there is no question that they should be miles better.

"The way I see it, the problem is simply that there are a lot of new players at the club and there has been no real pre-season for Ally to have a look at his squad and see where they are.

"He was forced to do his building once the season was already underway and that can be tricky.

"I fully expect that any problems on the road will be ironed out sooner rather than later. Like everyone else, I fully expect it to be a coast towards the title. I don't see any issue there whatsoever."