NO NEWCASTLE OFFERS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FOR BOUGHERRA OR CAPTAIN FERGUSON, SAYS RANGERS MANAGER

Smith prepared to offload fringe players from Ibrox squad

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Walter Smith insists Rangers have received no inquiries about Barry Ferguson or Madjid Bougherra after the pair were linked with a move to Newcastle.

The Ibrox manager claims the only player who has been the subject of concrete interest so far is Alan Gow, who is in negotiations with Wolves after his return from a six-month loan spell at Blackpool.

Reports suggest Newcastle are preparing a £4.5million offer for Bougherra, who joined Rangers for £2.5million from Charlton in the summer.

Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear is also reportedly interested in Ferguson, although a return south of the border is unlikely for the 30-year-old Ibrox captain.

Smith is keen to trim his extensive squad but would only welcome approaches for fringe players who have been told they are free to find new clubs.

He said: “The group we are looking at are the ones who haven’t been participating in the matches on a regular basis. We have had one inquiry from Wolves for Alan Gow. Negotiations are ongoing and that is the only inquiry we have had for any player.

“There are 28 players on the staff and we have to adjust that number a little bit.”

Rangers sanctioned the £9million sale of Alan Hutton to Tottenham this time last year and Smith admits he cannot guarantee a similar scenario will not happen in the transfer window.

He said: “There are players in our squad that we wouldn’t like to lose. We were in a situation last year when Alan Hutton was sold to Tottenham. We didn’t want to lose him but the bid was such that we had to take it from a purely financial sense.”

One fringe player set for a return to first team action is Steven Naismith, who could be named in the squad for tomorrow’s trip to Inverness. Naismith has not been involved since suffering a serious knee injury last April but has now taken part in several reserve matches.