WALTER SMITH will order his players to get back to business tonight when they take on St Johnstone in the Homecoming Cup.

The Rangers manager says his squad must put the intense transfer speculation to the back of their minds as they prepare for their first game after a nine-day spell dominated by headlines over the future of several leading stars.

Kris Boyd will take the field for the first time since he failed to agree terms with Birmingham City after they agreed a £3.8m fee with the Ibrox club.

And skipper Barry Ferguson has been made aware that Newcastle United boss Joe Kinnear is stepping up his interest in him, with a bid likely as soon as the Toon ship out some of their own deadwood. Allan McGregor, Pedro Mendes and Madjid Bougherra have also been linked with moves out of Ibrox during a period of uncertainty for Smith's key men.

However, the Rangers manager knows the last thing the club need after a week of turmoil is an embarrassing exit from the competition in Perth.

And he'll remind his players about the problems they've faced against lower league opposition over the last year prior to the live TV showdown.

Smith said: "It is no problem for us to focus on the game tonight, that's what we do.

"A lot of the extra stuff that has been going on may deflect attention in some places, but certainly not on the footballing side of things.

"We are fairly focused despite everything that has been written and spoken about. The main concentration will be on how we apply ourselves in the game and that application will be a major factor in whether we succeed or not."

Asked whether everyone - including those who have been tipped to go - would be considered for selection, Smith replied: "If we didn't, we would have hardly any players considering the amount of speculation that has gone on."

Smith, however, is in no doubt his team face a difficult test against Derek McInnes's First Division leaders who have now gone 14 games without tasting defeat.

He said: "Judging by their league performances this year, they have maybe got something a bit extra this season.

"I will be better placed to tell you that after the game. But they have probably shown an improvement from last season when we found it difficult to beat them at Hampden Park in the semi-final. Also, they will raise their game against us as they seek a big scalp."

Meanwhile, Kyle Lafferty could miss up to three weeks after injuring his knee in a bounce game last week.