CELTIC'S much-maligned striker Harald Brattbakk, who came off the bench to score the goal that virtually assured the club's first championship win in a decade, was not the only Norwegian to make a timely return to first-team action in the premier division last weekend.

Stale Stensaas, the Rangers full back who has also had to endure a number of vociferous critics since he joined the club from Rosenborg at the start of the season, made his comeback against Dundee United at Tannadice, albeit in a less ostentatious manner than that of his com-patriot. Stensaas, as well as suffering a crisis of confidence in his first season at the club, had the added misery of picking up a knee injury in February that required cartilage surgery, and consequently forced him out of action for two months.

He returned to action last month and was given a starting slot in the 3-0 defeat of Hearts at Tynecastle, although the niggling injuries which always seem to occur after a lengthy lay-off hampered his progress.

However, a return to both full fitness and the first team against United signified a large change of luck for the amiable Norwegian, and with the Scottish Cup looming, there is plenty to look forward to, perhaps for the first time since his #1.75m transfer.

''It's difficult at first when you join a big club,'' said Stensaas. ''The first year is always tough. I picked up the knee injury and then had a couple of smaller ones, but my fitness is great now and I think the break may even have been good for me.''

He qualified that statement by adding that he has now played for three years and has enjoyed only one week's break in that time, citing Rosenborg's success in the Champions' League as the main factor.

The injury, coupled with his loss of form - which he puts down to playing in an alien position at Ibrox that involved getting forward a lot more than he was accustomed to - means that he is now almost certain to be omitted from Norway's World Cup squad. ''It would probably take a few injuries to players before I would get picked and the squad is named in two weeks, so I have to be honest and say I will not be included.''

He fully intends to make up for that disappointment, however, by earning a Scottish Cup winner's medal to add to his already impressive collection of silverware.

''It's very important for both me and the club to win on Saturday,'' he said. ''It would come very high in my list of achievements, which include winning the league four times in Norway, winning the league cup twice, and getting to the quarter-final stage of the Champions' League.''

Just when it seemed Stensaas was finally ready to show the Rangers aficionados why the club spent so much money on him, chairman David Murray revealed that incoming manager Dick Advocaat had signed the Dutch internationalist full back, and PSV Eindhoven captain, Arthur Numan for #5m. The signing now means that Stensaas' Ibrox future is far from secure, but the defender flatly refuses to adhere to that school of thought, preferring instead to accentuate the positive.

''It's good for the club to keep buying new and important players,'' he said of Numan's arrival. ''It will also make me a better player.''

Admitting that the expensive new rival for his left-back berth is unlikely to find himself on the bench, Stensaas offered: ''Maybe he can play some other position.''

In whatever position he may find himself next season, a determined Stensaas vowed the supporters would see an improved player. ''I know I can play better and I'm now looking forward to next season.''