Read our Uefa cup final blog: "Will Rangers beat Celtic's Seville record?"

Lee McCulloch boasts an unbeaten record at the City of Manchester stadium with previous club Wigan. His visit there tomorrow will coincide with his 30th birthday. Two weeks ago, he thought his season was over with a broken foot, but he is now fit again. If Rangers need a talisman, they need look no further than McCulloch.

Twelve months ago, the 29-year-old was fighting relegation at the JJB Stadium, now he is preparing for the biggest game of his life against Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup final.

"When you are fighting relegation it's always hellish and a different sort of pressure," said McCulloch. "It's one you don't want but I'm now getting used to the pressure of playing for Rangers. To play in a big final would be brilliant.

"I don't see this as pressure. I see it as excitement and you just have to enjoy the day. Everyone's families are going down and it will be a special day, a special night, and if we go and succeed it will go down in history and be the best ever.

"I have played in the stadium maybe three or four times and have never been beaten there. I've scored there and it's on my birthday. It's all looking good, but we will see how it goes. It's going to be tough because Zenit are a quality team and they showed that with their result against Bayern. I think we should just go and enjoy the day rather than feeling nervous or pressure."

In the 2-1 defeat by Celtic at Parkhead on April 16, McCulloch was injured in a challenge with Paul Hartley and feared his season was over. However, the initial diagnosis of a broken foot proved mistaken. He is now in contention for a starting place against the Russians. "I was told my foot was broken by the medical team and a specialist. Then, a couple of days later, the swelling went down, I went for a scan and discovered it was not broken, it was bone bruising, which gave me a wee bit of hope.

"To have come back so quickly has been brilliant for me, to be able to train and get my fitness back. The injured boys Allan McGregor, Chris Burke and Steven Naismith will be missed and I think it's important they stay about the dressing room because they are characters. I feel a bit for them, it's Naisy's first season at the club and he's going to miss out on the Scottish Cup final and this final - and probably a part of pre-season as well."

McCulloch is one of a raft of players who were brought in last summer - including Carlos Cuellar, Steven Whittaker, Jean-Claude Darcheville and Daniel Cousin - and integrated quickly to lead the club to within touching distance of four trophies. McCulloch believes the team spirit fostered by the backroom staff has proved pivotal in their success. "All the boys are really pally, really close and I think that shows because when we are not playing well, we still manage to grind out results. It shows the team spirit we have got.

"The biggest thing was Ally McCoist in tears after the Fiorentina game. Anybody who doesn't know him might think he's a joker. But since I have met him and really got to know him he has shown he has a tremendous will to win. He's a winner who has fire in his belly and doesn't like getting beat. He's a bad loser. I think that's rubbing off on most of the boys."

The cause has been helped by the emergence of unlikely heroes. Neil Alexander has proved pivotal, particularly in the penalty shoot-out against Fiorentina in the semi-final. "It's brilliant for Neil Alexander," he said.

"One minute he's at Ipswich, the next he is going to be playing in the UEFA Cup final and it just shows you how football can turn round. I am delighted for him."

Zenit will arguably have more cutting edge than any of the teams Rangers have faced in their UEFA Cup run. The Ibrox side have favoured a cautionary approach in Europe so far and will employ their usual 4-5-1 in the final.

McCulloch was pragmatic about how Rangers must approach the game. "Working hard as a team, being hard to beat, not conceding and trying to get one on the break," he said. "It depends on how the game goes, we will have to start well and if we get our hands on the trophy then it will be very special."