The phony war is over. Walter Smith's sigh of relief at the end of his side's pre-season campaign was almost enough to create a small tempest in the Raith Rovers tea-room on Saturday.

The Rangers manager is desperate for a return to competitive action - against FBK Kaunas in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier on Wednesday - before the loss of any more key personnel. Carlos Cuellar was the latest victim, picking up a calf strain in their 2-1 victory in Kirkcaldy which will keep him out of Wednesday's crucial encounter and the Premierleague opener against Falkirk on August 9.

Kevin Thomson and Lee McCulloch both missed out at the weekend though, mercifully for Smith, should return for the visit of the Lithuanians. The Rangers manager, who will also be without captain Barry Ferguson for the first four months of the season, looked thoroughly brassed off as he picked over the bones of an unconvincing performance against the second division outfit. Second half goals, from Nacho Novo and Daniel Cousin, ensured victory, though performance levels still remain well below what the Rangers manager expects.

The arrival of the Lithuanians, he hopes, will help galvanise his team. "You're eager to get started," he admitted. "When pre-season comes, you worry about getting injuries and losing players when you are only trying to get them up and running. I'm in no doubt that the amount of matches Cuellar played for us last season are contributing to the niggly things he's getting at the present moment. That's been a wee bit of problem all pre-season. We've had one or two players who played a lot of games for us last season and have missed bits of training because of strains. I think we will look forward to getting into competitive games."

Kaunas are already well into their season and Smith expects a difficult encounter. "They have a physical presence but I don't see them being any more physical than any of the teams we play against. Up front they have a couple of decent players. In midfield and defence they have a presence about them."

The loss of Cuellar, while significant, will be offset by Kirk Broadfoot or Christian Dailly moving alongside David Weir in central defence. Broadfoot looked comfortable after switching into the middle following the Spaniard's 28th minute injury on Saturday. "I just wanted to give Kirk a run at centre half," he admitted. "He's more natural there than he is at full back. It's fair at this time of the season to give him a run in a position where he is a bit more comfortable, although he doesn't complain about playing in any position."

The return of Thomson for Kaunas will be vital. It is in the central midfield area that Smith's side look woefully short of inspiration, a situation compounded by their failure to land Steve Davis from Fulham. He acknowledged as much afterwards. "When we look at our midfield from last season, we have lost Barry Ferguson and Thomson and McCulloch today. Steve Davis is away at the same time. That is practically the whole of the midfield we were playing last season missing for today's game, although obviously two of them will be back for the next game."

Ferguson's absence was reflected in Rangers' inability to play fluently through midfield on Saturday. While the front pairing of Kris Boyd and Jean-Claude Darcheville, supplemented by Kenny Miller on the left, hardly covered themselves in glory, they were deprived of decent service. Smith, who started with Charlie Adam and Brahim Hemdani in central midfield, admitted that they will have to work hard to sustain the loss of Ferguson.

"He is an important player to us. He's our captain and the hub of everything we have been doing in the midfield in recent seasons.

"How much would Barry Ferguson cost in the transfer market? We wouldn't have the money to get the right player in so there's no point in panicking. We need to make sure we have enough players to cover for him and I am confident we have. As long as we don't get a run of injuries to the likes of McCulloch and Thomson then we can add to our midfield and we will do so when we think it is the right player."

Adam has failed to fully establish himself under Smith, but senses an opportunity. "It's a big blow to lose Ferguson,"

said Adam. "He's the captain and he drives us. He's a fantastic leader, but in his absence there are other guys who have got take games by the scruff of the neck. We've got some of the players who can do that. I like to play in the middle, but if the manager feels on the day that out wide is the best position for me, then fine."

Rangers now have a plethora of attacking options. Boyd and Darcheville spearheaded the attack on Saturday, with Miller on the left, but it wasn't until the introductions of Andrius Velicka, Novo, Cousin and Kyle Lafferty that Rangers started to look like a potent attacking threat. Smith insisted that he knows who his favoured striking options are.

"I know who the best combination is," he insisted. "After you have a break, forwards are the hardest ones to get into gear in terms of their sharpness and their finishing. We're reasonably happy with the situation at the moment."