Thousands of Rangers fans spent their Sunday queuing for must-have tickets to next week's Uefa Cup final.

Supporters were forced to line up for hours to get last-minute briefs for the game after opponents Zenit St Petersburg failed to sell out their allocation for Wednesday's clash in Manchester.

The Russian champions will send 9000 people to watch the game, leaving around 4000 extra tickets up for grabs for Rangers supporters.

The Ibrox club was yesterday handing out tickets but only to those lucky enough to win special computer ballots. Some 17,000 Rangers fans are now expected to be in the City of Manchester Stadium, not including those who have got hold of seats in neutral parts of the ground.

Fans queued through Friday and Saturday too. One supporter who managed to get hold of a ticket was 24-year-old Ryan McCluskey. He stood in a queue for three and a half hours with partner Jennifer Burns, who is more than eight months pregnant.

"It is 36 years since the last time Rangers were in a European final," Ms Burns, 18, explained yesterday. "So I don't think I can stop him going."

She is a bit worried about her partner's plans for naming her child: "He wants to call our baby Nacho," she said yesterday. "But I think that sounds like a packet of crisps."

Manchester is now bracing itself for the biggest Scottish invasion of the city since the Jacobite Army of Bonnie Prince Charlie occupied the northern stronghold in 1745.

Then, enterprising Mancunians made a fortune from the invaders - the ladies of Manchester even stitched together Saltires. This time, city authorities expect a boost of £5m for their economy from an estimated 100,000 fans.

One canny business is already taking orders to deliver cold carry-outs to supporters in the streets of Manchester, after authorities in the city signalled they would not enforce a public drinking ban.

The firm is charging 99p for every delivery, and will arrange to meet fans anywhere in the city centre, where there will be specially designated licensed fan zones.

A source for the people behind the scheme, which is offering deliveries through eBay, said: "There are many squares, gardens and meeting points where fans can kick back and enjoy the entertainment without having to worry about huge bar queues."

Manchester authorities have stressed that the three fan zones will have space for up to 24,000 supporters with room for as many again in bars and clubs across the city, all of which have been stocking up.

Fans might bring cash - and logistical problems - for Manchester. But the big game could bring problems for the Scottish economy.

The CBI issued a statement warning fans to try to get back to work on time on Thursday morning. "People deciding to take a sick day because of the previous night are not only harming business," a spokesman said. "They are also punishing colleagues who do turn up as normal, because of the extra workload created."

Scottish fans have chartered 500 buses - end to end, stretching some eight miles - to take them to Manchester. Almost every Rangers Supporters Club has found a way to get its members there.

Only one, the Baghdad Loyal, admitted it couldn't lay on a bus. Teddy Bears who find themselves in the Iraqi capital, the club said, should make their way to the bar of the British Embassy.

Rangers clubs all over Britain, Ireland and the rest of the world are sending delegates, including a group from Shetland who will make a gruelling 20-hour journey from Lerwick despite not having tickets for the match.

Even parliamentarians have got in on the act. A Rangers Supporters Group has been formed in the House of Commons.

Its secretary Brian Donohoe yesterday said he had signed up more than 25 members, Lords as well as MPs, since the group was founded last month.

Mr Donohoe has his ticket, courtesy of a friend. Now he is looking for more for fellow MPs who haven't been so lucky. "We have members from all parties, except the SNP," he said yesterday. "Luckily, the Democratic Unionist Party made up for the nationalists because their entire parliamentary group joined our club."

Several SNP Scottish ministers, however, have given their backing to Rangers.