Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s options for next month’s trip to Parkhead became a little clearer on Sunday night.
It’s fair to say the Dutchman would have had worse evenings as he learned two of his key men will be available for selection.
Joe Aribo’s African Nations Cup exit frees the Nigerian up for the Old Firm derby while Kemar Roofe also opted to skip Jamaica duty to help Rangers in their title fight.
Aribo, if fit, is a certain starter for the Light Blues having been arguably the best player in the Scottish Premiership this season.
However, Roofe’s availability could also be key with Alfredo Morelos ruled out due to his international commitments with Colombia.
Roofe made his first appearance since the Europa League dead rubber against Lyon on December 9 when he came off the bench in the 4-0 Scottish Cup win over Stirling Albion.
Cedric Itten started the fourth round tie at Ibrox in his first appearance since returning from his loan spell in Germany.
Itten grabbed a goal but former Rangers full back Richard Foster, working for BBC radio at the game, believes Roofe still represents Van Bronckhorst’s best option up front.
The Swiss didn’t impress him hugely and Foster said: “He needs to realise he’s the focal point of their attack and the main striker.
“He sometimes drifts deep and drifts out the box - just play in the middle of the pitch, play in the middle of the goals.
“A lot of the time just pin the defender and be a wall, a bounce pass for your team-mates.
“You could see Roofe doing it when he came on and to be fair to Itten he did it better in the second half.
“Just be in and around the box and have a real desire to go and score goals.
“Thankfully for him he got his goal and it was a decent enough little finish.
“He’s coming back to the club having only ever been a substitute for Steven Gerrard.
“He’ll have a point to prove and come back in, got his goal and can say to the manager ‘While Alfredo Morelos is away, why not use me up top?’
“But he still has to do more to be ahead of Roofe but there’s definite quality there - he just has to show it more regularly.”
It was a night when many fringe men - particularly Brandon Barker and Jack Simpson - failed to take their big chance.
But Foster reckons Fashion Sakala, another on the scoresheet, did give his manager plenty to think about going forward along with debutant Alex Lowry.
And with Ianis Hagi limping off early on ahead of the visit of Livingston this week, Foster said: “Sakala might be an option.
“We don’t know how bad Hagi’s injury is. I prefer Sakala to Hagi. Both have quality but that pace of Sakala tips it for me.
“Livingston will sit in and you need to break them down and the guile of Sakala is an option and did himself huge favours.
“Sakala has got a rawness and unpredictability about him which I like. I still think sometimes he could offload the ball a bit quicker if he’s getting doubled up on and beat teams with a bit of movement.
“He did that for his goal - came short, ran in behind and defenders can’t live with that pace - which he took very well after an excellent Bacuna pass.
“He was the one at the start of the game who looked like he was trying to raise the tempo for Rangers and make things happen.
“He was aided when Lowry came on and the tempo all round was better in the second half and they moved the ball quicker in forward areas.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get and `I almost like that about him. He can go past three or four players and usually composed in front of goal.”
