THE reactions of Ronny Deila and Ally McCoist to the prospect of rekindling Old Firm rivalries in the latter stages of the League Cup create the impression they would be coming at such a match-up from slightly different angles.

Deila, still new to Scottish shores and brimming with enthusiasm despite an underwhelming start to his time as Celtic manager, insists everyone within his dressing-room would love to be pitched in against Rangers. It is, in his own words, what many of them are waiting for.

McCoist is a little more circumspect. He would, quite rightly, have dreaded the very idea of a Glasgow derby with the team that made it out of SPFL League 1 last season. Even with a number of experienced professionals having been recruited during the summer months, the Ibrox boss claims he "can contain [himself] at the thought of it right now."

Kris Boyd, however, is decidedly more bullish about confronting the possibility. Going through an uncharacteristically fallow period in front of goal, he speaks of solving his current problems by refusing to hide and is equally enthusiastic about putting himself out there when faced with the question of whether this Rangers team, hyperbole aside, would even be capable of giving their arch-rivals a contest.

Last night's draw for the quarter-finals, while failing to deliver the one fixture that would really put a rocket up the domestic game, has raised anticipation of a one-off showdown between the pair somewhere in the New Year.

Of course, for many battle-weary Rangers supporters, the thought of facing Celtic at this delicate stage of their 'journey' is a step too far. For Boyd, it is something you sense he would enjoy sinking his teeth into. It would have been better had McCoist's men been drawn against the Parkhead side whilst they were embroiled in a testing European campaign, but the former Kilmarnock striker believes McCoist's side have no reason to fear anyone.

"We are in a position where we can cause teams from the Premiership problems and we showed that against Inverness," said Boyd, with reference to a 1-0 victory over the Highland side in the second round. "They are second in the league, have beaten Celtic and played reasonably well, so we know we can cause problems. However, the way we have played this season, there are three or four teams from the Premiership that we would have to raise our game against to beat them.

"We know Celtic are a good team. They are in a position that Rangers have been in over the past two years, anyway, in that they might not need to play their best, but they are going to win the league.

"They have been knocked out of the Champions League and are obviously struggling for confidence. They find themselves involved in a Europa League campaign which involves coming back from long trips on a Thursday and facing long trips to Inverness or elsewhere on a Sunday. Circumstances are difficult for them.

"The majority of the teams left in the competition are Premiership teams, so we have an opportunity to show how far we have come."

Rangers restricted Inverness to very few chances during the course of that one-goal win over the Highlanders in the second round.

While they may not be producing pyrotechnics in the Championship, grinding their way past opponents rather than grinding them into the dirt, he believes they are doing enough to suggest they will carve out opportunities no matter who they come up against.

"Inverness get credit for the way they pass the ball, but I think they had one shot at goal at Ibrox," he said. "We might not be playing the best, but we are still creating four or five chances a game. We are still beating teams.

"We will need that going into the next round of the cup because we are going to come up against better teams. It is a challenge we will look forward to."

Boyd, of course, has been going through a miserable spell of late. He is on a run of five games without finding the back of the net, which, by his own admission, was something that almost never happened during his previous, record-breaking stay at the club.

His statistics are not great. His five goals so far have come in the cup against Clyde and Queen's Park, two teams languishing at the bottom end of Scottish football's bottom division. Of the 11 appearances he has made this term, nine of those have failed to deliver a goal.

Boyd knows it is not good enough. However, he believes that sheer persistence rather than any great degree of introspection will provide the solution he requires. "I will keep getting myself in the positions to miss chances, score chances, whatever," he said.

"I have been through stages like this in my career before, but we are talking five or six games and that is a first for me. Those are the standards you set. I was scoring more or less every game first time round and I need to get back to doing that.

"Some of the chances I have missed have not been like me. There is no greater feeling than scoring goals for this club and I want to get back to doing that. I know it won't be far round the corner, though."

Kenny Miller is edging closer to returning from a calf problem and Boyd believes rekindling their partnership will ease his own difficulties. However, he admits that, with Dean Shiels scoring against Falkirk and Jon Daly fit again, he needs to start hitting the net quickly before McCoist considers leaving him out of the team altogether.

"Kenny is going to help anybody," said Boyd. "He is going to help the team, he is going to help me and help the midfield. He has done it at the highest level.

"I base myself on goals and I know I have to start scoring goals if I am going to keep myself in the team. I might be doing other things better than I did in the past, but I need to start scoring goals."