Rangers happy to use Diouf in Old Firm derby

(Reuters)

Ally McCoist said he has no problem including El Hadji Diouf in tomorrow's Scottish Cup fifth-round match with Celtic, despite the forward's reputation.

Eight years ago Diouf was fined and banned for spitting on a Celtic fan, and has been followed by controversial incidents ever since. But the Rangers assistant manager would have no qualms in selecting the Senegalese for what would be his first Old Firm derby.

"There's no reason for us not to involve him against Celtic," said McCoist of his new signing. "He's only been here 48 hours and has mixed in great with everyone. He's a nice lad." Diouf joined Rangers this week on loan from Blackburn Rovers, the fourth Premier League club of his career. He had previously played for Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool, where he was involved in the most notorious incident of his career. In a Uefa Cup quarter-final in 2003, he spat at Celtic fans. He was fined two weeks' wages by Liverpool, banned for two games by Uefa and fined £5,000 after pleading guilty to assault.

There have been other incidents since, and in his final match for Blackburn he was accused by QPR players of abusing Jamie Mackie while he was down with a broken leg.

The Rangers coaching staff, however, believe that Diouf can learn from the past and show his best form for the Scottish champions, after a promising debut as a substitute against Hearts in midweek. "Watching him on Wednesday night and in training, he cares about his football," said McCoist. "He knows what he's done. We spoke about it. It is not for us to tell him what mistakes he made. People are lecturing him, but nobody has made more mistakes than me. If you do, you have to cope.

"Diouf knows what he's done – we don't need to tell him. All we can tell him is what is expected of him now, and what we want from him. We want him to enjoy his football. We want him to score and make goals."

It was Diouf's ability that initially impressed McCoist and Walter Smith, and the Celtic manager Neil Lennon was happy to praise him for the same reason. "I think it sometimes gets lost a little bit that he's a good player," said Lennon. "Liverpool paid £11m for him when he first came to England."

Diouf was not the only forward signed by Rangers in January. To help cover the losses of Kenny Miller and James Beattie to Bursaspor and Blackpool respectively, David Healy came in from Sunderland on a free transfer. The Rangers midfielder Steven Davis has played with the striker for both Northern Ireland and Fulham and praised his new team-mate. "There is no better finisher out there," he said of Healy. "He's a really, really good finisher. If we create chances he will be sniffing around the box and putting them away. He is a good person to have around the dressing room."

There have been two Old Firm derbies so far this season, both won by the away side. Rangers prevailed 3-1 at Celtic Park in October, while Celtic won 2-0 at Ibrox last month.