GLASGOW (AFP) - Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers are still confident they can knock Sporting Lisbon out of the UEFA Cup quarter finals on Thursday despite failing to score in the first leg at Ibrox last week - according to midfielder Lee McCulloch.

The Portuguese side gained the advantage in the tie when they secured a 0-0 draw in Glasgow.

However, Rangers have already shown they can score away from home in Europe this season in both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

And McCulloch sees no reason he and his teammates cannot find the net again on Thursday against Sporting to book their place in the last four of the competition.

The former Motherwell and Wigan player said: "We've managed to score goals away from home in Europe already this season.

"In the Champions League we scored three times without reply against Lyon in France and although we lost against Stuttgart in Germany we netted twice.

"Then in the UEFA Cup we drew 0-0 against Panathinaikos in the first leg at Ibrox but scored in Greece to get the 1-1 draw which took us through.

"So we've not struggled to score goals away from home and we're confident we can do so again against Sporting."

Although Rangers manager Walter Smith prefers the defensive formation of 4-5-1, which has brought him criticism from a section of the club's supporters, McCulloch believes the strategy has been successful and can work again in Lisbon.

He said: "The team are used to playing the system and I think it's worked well for us. We've played the same way in almost all our European games and the majority of our league matches and it's not stopped us scoring a lot of goals.

"Barry Ferguson is usually the most advanced midfielder who gets forward to support the lone striker, but the likes of myself and Steven Davis are encouraged to push forward when we get the chance so we do get bodies forward."

While McCulloch still feels the Glasgow side can progress in the competition he acknowledges they will need to improve from their first leg performance.

He said: "It was quite an even game in the first leg and neither team really created too many clear-cut chances.

"We had a couple of efforts on goal in the first half and they had a few near the end of the game but there wasn't much in it.

"But we know we can perform better and we're all looking forward to showing that in the second leg.

"It's a massive game for all of us. It's been a great achievement to get to the quarter finals but you always want to go further and we're aiming to get a positive result in Lisbon and get to the last four."

Rangers received a boost on Tuesday when their Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar - who has been shortlisted for the SPL's players' player of the year award - was passed fit for the second leg despite suffering from a virus.

With his central defensive partner David Weir suspended Scottish international Christian Dailly is expected to join Cuellar in the heart of Rangers' rearguard.

Smith will also have the option of using Gabon international striker Daniel Cousin in the lone striking role after he completed his recovery from a broken jaw.

Sporting, meanwhile, will be without defender Anderson Polga who tore a muscle in his thigh during their 2-0 victory over Braga on Sunday.

However, they will be boosted by the return of Yannick Djalo who scored both goals at the weekend after returning from a long-term injury.