Dundee United manager Craig Levein has rejected suggestions that weekend opponents Rangers may already have one eye on the UEFA Cup final.The Gers will travel to Manchester to face Dick Advocaat's Zenit St Petersburg in the European showpiece on Wednesday and tried to get this game postponed in order to give them more time to prepare but that move was controversially rejected by the SPL.

The midweek encounter at the City of Manchester Stadium will be the biggest day of the Rangers players' careers but with the opportunity to win four trophies still firmly within their grasp Levein knows that veteran manager Walter Smith will have his team fully focused on domestic matters first.

While the spotlight has been firmly on Rangers' quest for glory, the trip to Govan is also crucial for United in their bid to finish third, and they need full points in order to catch Motherwell.

Levein said: "Walter is far too experienced in management to let his players take their eye off the ball.

"They are fighting on three fronts at the moment, although they can afford to put the Scottish Cup final to the back of their minds for now, but the league is a huge priority for them.

"Both the championship and the UEFA Cup are really important for them so they have got two massive games over the next few days and they will be fully focused on both - I'm sure of that."

The last time the teams met they fought out a 3-3 draw at Tannadice, with United managing to breach the notoriously miserly Rangers defence more times than anyone expected.

With the stakes so high again this time Levein expects an open encounter and cannot rule out another glut of goals.

He said: "I suspect there could be goals again because it's simply a game that both teams need to win.

"That should make it quite open and from our point of view the pressure is off a bit.

"We've been playing the teams around us recently but when you come up against the Old Firm it's a different kind of pressure and we've shown this season it's something we thrive on.

"Nobody is expecting us to take anything from the game - apart from ourselves - so that probably works in our favour."

Meanwhile, Tannadice captain Lee Wilkie admits United's five-game winless streak has hampered their bid for third place.

He said: "We've struggled in the last few games but, then again, so have all the others who are trying to get into Europe.

"Aberdeen are the only ones that have made progress by winning their games recently.

"It's all served to make things closer. It's going to the wire and that's what the fans want.

"If it was done and dusted a few weeks ago nobody would be interested.

"It's been an exciting end to the season and maybe it does show that the SPL split does work after all."

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