Le Guen hoping European win turns Rangers' season around

Rangers' under-fire manager Paul Le Guen hopes his turbulent season can be turned around with the club's first win on Italian soil in the UEFA Cup.

They beat Livorno 3-2 on Thursday in their Group A opener to help erase the bad memory of their first defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle at home last weekend in a stuttering Scottish Premier League campaign.

"I would like it to be a turning point," Le Guen said. "But, after the game against Aberdeen (Rangers won 1-0) I thought that, and then we lost the game against Inverness.

"So I am very careful," the Frenchman told reporters.

Rangers play at St Mirren in the Premier League today and are just a point ahead in fifth place, but they trail leaders Celtic by 13 points after the latter beat Motherwell 2-1 yesterday.

"It will be a tough game and we need a good recovery after our efforts against Livorno. It will be very important to win on Sunday (today)," Le Guen said.

The Frenchman, in his debut season at Rangers, shrugged off the strain as their league campaign nosedived and he faced fans' criticism.

"I am used to living with this pressure," he said.

"I've done this job for seven years now and I know the expectation is high. But it's not impossible to live with," said Le Guen, who steered French champions Olympique Lyon to three of their five successive league titles from 2003 to 2005.

Le Guen warned that his players could lack an edge to their play today after such an exacting win in Italy.

"To play two and half days after such a game will be the most difficult thing."