Live Commentary

McCoist confident over new Lafferty deal Rangers manager Ally McCoist is confident an agreement can be reached with Kyle Lafferty over a new deal. McCoist revealed last week that chairman Craig Whyte had opened contract talks with the Northern Irishman's agent about extending his stay at Ibrox. The Rangers boss has since had a chance to speak to Lafferty about his future with the Light Blues and does not anticipate too many problems. "I've spoken to Kyle and Kyle is happy here. We are very happy to have Kyle here," McCoist said. "We would want to extend his contract, Kyle wants to extend it and that's where we are at the moment. "There hasn't been any figures thrashed out but, when you've got two parties and they both want the same thing, it gives you a good chance of getting a deal." As well as tying up Lafferty, McCoist is also keen to bolster his squad further in January. He admits the loss of Steven Naismith for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament damage is a major blow but says he would have been looking to strengthen anyway. He said: "I'm not sure we need to replace Naismith in January. "But you want to strengthen your team and your squad and that will continue to be the case. "Myself, Kenny [MacDowall] and Ian [Durrant] are looking to strengthen the squad. "Naismith being out has given us a problem because he could have played up front for us, he could have played in midfield, he could have played in between the midfield and up front and he could have played in the wider areas. He covered us for five or six positions. "From that point of view, it definitely gives us a little bit of a headache. We will be looking and, if we can strengthen, we would like to." One player who will not be signing is Swedish striker Joe Sise, with Rangers confirming he has now left Scotland after failing to win a contract following a trial with the club. McCoist faces another, more welcome, selection headache ahead of Saturday's clash with Dundee United with the return of Kyle Bartley following hernia surgery. The on-loan Arsenal defender has been out of action since August, during which time Dorin Goian and Carlos Bocanegra have forged an impressive central defensive partnership. For Dundee United manager Peter Houston a week has made a big difference, and now he will seek to mastermind defeat of Rangers. Rangers' last SPL loss was when David Goodwillie, now at Blackburn, scored a late winner in a 3-2 success at Ibrox on April 2 as United went on to finish fourth. The departures of Goodwillie, Craig Conway, Morgaro Gomis and Prince Buaben have contributed to United's troubled start to this term, with three wins in 13 games leaving them eighth in the table. Such form, coupled with the Scottish Communities League Cup quarter-final loss to Falkirk, brought Houston's position as manager into question. But he maintains he was not too concerned about the rumours he was to be relieved of his duties before he received the backing of the club's board after last week's 4-1 win at Dunfermline. Houston said: "I wasn't worried about anything - I genuinely mean that. "I was going into the game with confidence because of the players' previous couple of performances. "The last couple of league matches that we've played, against St Johnstone (drawing 0-0) and Dunfermline, we've played well. We should've beaten St Johnstone. "But going into the game last week - with all the nonsense that went on before it - it was nice to get a positive result." Houston knows his United side face a difficult challenge to repeat their April success against a Rangers team unbeaten in 23 matches and who have dropped four points from a possible 39 this term. "It will be a mammoth task but we look forward to it, rather than fear it," he added. "Rangers are in a rich vein of form. I think the standards they've set this season and at the end of last season are an example to all clubs. "That's the goal of every other club in the SPL - to try and maintain the consistency levels that they've shown. "The only other team to beat them (since United in April) is Falkirk in the cup." Gary Kenneth is fit again for United after missing the win, but Sean Dillon (calf), Danny Swanson (knee) and Scott Severin (broken leg) are still absent. end