Rangers v Heart of Midlothian

R

HEARTS goalkeeper Antti Niemi said last night that in Stefan Klos Rangers have one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that it was no surprise to him that the German was currently playing so well for the Ibrox club.

Niemi has followed Klos' career closely and believes that only Edwin van der Saar of Juventus, whom Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign for Manchester United before he went to the

Italian club, had fulfilled his potential like Klos.

Niemi, who spent more than two seasons at Ibrox before signing for Hearts, said the top quality saves made by Klos in last Wednesday's Old Firm encounter were par for the course for the player he rates so highly.

He also made it clear that, despite the confidence in the Hearts ranks going into tomorrow's Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox, their strikers would have to be on top of their form to beat the Rangers goalkeeper.

Niemi began his Rangers career as understudy to Andy Goram, but was kept out of Dick Advocaat's side by Lionel Charbonnier and then, ironically, Klos when he joined from Borussia Dortmund.

Despite the fact the German blocked his way to first-team football, something which convinced him he should leave Ibrox, Niemi still holds Klos in the highest regard.

''To me Klos was one of the best young goalkeepers in the world with only van der Saar at Juventus being as good as him, and I am not surprised he has done so well through his career,'' said the Finnish internationalist. ''I first realised how good he was when he played at Borussia Dortmund and it was a pleasant surprise when he arrived at Ibrox. When you train with someone as good as him you always learn, and against Celtic he showed he is a world-class goalkeeper.

''Leaving Ibrox was purely a career move for me, but it was disappointing not to make it into the first team more, and I am not trying to hide that. However, moving to Hearts has worked out well for me and I have never regretted making the move.''

Niemi said he felt he had nothing to prove to Dick Advocaat and had left on good terms with the Rangers manager, who had made it clear that he was prepared to let him leave the club.

''I had a few meetings with the manager before I left Rangers and he was a straight-talking guy about things. He tells you exactly what he thinks and that is it. He is doing a good job with Rangers and is not bothered what other people think about him.''

Niemi believes his side have a great chance to take something from the Rangers game, and believes six wins in their last eight games is a clear indication of their current form.

''In recent months we have had new players like myself, Fitzroy Simpson, Gordan Petric and Robert Tomaschek coming into the team at the same time, and

it took a while for us to settle down but we are doing well

now and will go to Ibrox full of confidence.''

However, Niemi said he felt that, although his team could get away with making mistakes against some other Scottish teams, any lapses of concentration would be severely punished by a side as good as Rangers.

Meanwhile, Hearts manager Jim Jefferies believes that former Tynecastle winger Neil McCann will be the main threat to his side's cup ambitions. He believes the flair shown by the Scotland internationalist went a long way towards Rangers beating Celtic and he would have to be closed down quickly tomorrow.

In defence, Hearts are likely to be without Petric, who is still recovering from a broken foot, and are likely to play Fabien Leclerq, Steven Pressley, and Grant Murray at the back with Gary Naysmith and Thomas

Flogel as the wing-backs.

Colin Cameron missed training yesterday with a stomach bug but is likely to be fit, while up front Gary Wales and Darren Jackson are likely to keep out Stephane Adam and Gary McSwegan.

Rangers manager Dick Advocaat is hoping the match will be a more open encounter than the one at Ibrox in December, which dampened the celebrations as players past and present turned up to celebrate the centenary of the stadium.

The manager was publicly critical of Jefferies' defence-minded tactics that evening, with Jorg Albertz ensuring a late home victory from a free-kick.

''He has a good team and they have always played well, so I could not understand the system against us that night,'' said Advocaat. ''They have shown that when they play another way they can win points against us because the team has a lot of ability.''

Advocaat also admitted AZ67 Alkmaar are playing cat-and- mouse over the transfer of

Fernando Ricksen, but seems confident that the player, who has stated his desire to join the Dutch colony at Ibrox, will arrive in the summer.

Rangers will be without full back Tony Vidmar for the match after he injured his groin in a tackle with Celtic's Stephane Mahe on Wednesday, and Andrei Kanchelskis is likely to be recalled, with Claudio Reyna playing further back.

BOOKIES' VIEW: Rangers 4-11, Hearts 8-1, draw 7-2.