Steven Gerrard has called on his Rangers side to "keep the momentum going" as they prepare for Sunday's Betfred Cup clash at Kilmarnock (kick-off 12.30pm).

Gers held their nerve in Slovenia to earn a goalless draw with Maribor that saw them reach the Europa League play-off round on aggregate, but must quickly turn their attention to a knockout cup tie.

And while Gerrard admits the early-season schedule is tough, he senses rising confidence in his ranks.

"Confidence is growing, belief is growing and it's important that we keep the momentum going," Gerrard told reporters.

"The schedule's tough at the moment but we can share the load. We're just focused on the next game, which is Kilmarnock.

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"Steve Clarke is a very good manager - someone I have huge respect for - who has his team very organised. They have a very good home record. They play with two banks of four normally and, in Kris Boyd, have a very experienced player who knows where the back of the net is.

"We'll have to be at it. We'll have to recover as well as we can and we'll have to put in a strong performance if we want to progress."

Team news

Stuart Findlay has returned to training with Kilmarnock following a head knock but Sunday's tie comes too soon for the defender.

Midfielder Adam Frizzell is working his way back from a knee injury, while attacker Rory McKenzie is also still out with an ankle injury.

Rangers are awaiting a fitness update on midfielder Lassana Coulibaly.

The on-loan Angers player missed Thursday's Europa League decider with a thigh injury and Gerrard expects to learn more on Friday afternoon.

"He has got a scan just to check the injury out as a precaution," the manager said. "We don't think it's a serious problem but he's an important player for us so we want to check it out just to see if there is any damage in there."