Tomorrow's visit of Chelsea signals the conclusion of pre-season preparations for the Ibrox side, whose Champions League campaign begins in earnest on Tuesday with a second-round qualifier against FK Zeta.

With such a crucial game just a few days away, Jose Mourinho's men can expect to face a strong Rangers side keen to build on their match-sharpness ahead of the visit of the Montenegrin champions.

But, with Kevin Thomson recovering from an ear infection, Steven Smith and Thomas Buffel still on the casualty list and Andy Webster suspended for four games at the start of the season, Smith admits it could take a while to find a settled line-up.

"It will only be a few months into the season that we will know what our best starting XI might be," he said.

"We are far better off numbers-wise than we were last season.

"We would hope, bringing in the players we have, that there is decent quality in there.

"We're happy with the situation that we are in at the moment."

He added: "We're ready now. We are physically ready. Our match-fitness is there and we have a little bit of competitive edge in our games.

"We've reached the stage where we are really ready to get into a competitive environment."

Smith watched his players come through a tough pre-season friendly against Ajax on Tuesday night, which ended 1-1, and has predicted another difficult outing against Chelsea which he feels can only benefit Rangers with competitive football now just days away.

He said: "As far as our pre-season training goes, Chelsea is the last of our friendly games and, no disrespect to any of the other teams we have played, it's the toughest of them all.

"That's an intentional factor. We go into a big game on Tuesday night and I felt we had to try to take a game that would stretch us.

"There is no doubt that will be the case tomorrow.

"Ajax and Chelsea are both good sides and both have featured prominently in Champions League games and they give us a terrific test.

"We had to work really hard against Ajax, we got a big benefit from that, and we will have to work hard again tomorrow."

He added: "We couldn't get a better game. Chelsea have been fantastic in the last three years since Jose Mourinho took over.

"The level of consistency has been a terrific factor, plus their level of play as well.

"People may say that their situation, having a lot of money to spend in the transfer market, puts them up there.

"But it doesn't matter if you have a lot of money to spend in the transfer market or not, you need to have exceptional managerial qualities to handle the situation they have been placed in and he has done a fantastic job over that period of time."

Lee McCulloch, who joined Rangers from Wigan earlier this month, believes the pre-season matches have been crucial in helping the new players integrate and he says everyone will be determined to impress against Chelsea tomorrow.

"It's a great test, especially for all the new players," he said.

"Going forward, we are looking really good at the moment. We just need everyone pulling together and knowing each other defensively as well.

"It's important that we are playing well and getting good results along the way.

"That's always going to stand you in good stead for the season and for next Tuesday night as well.

"I think you just need to go out and play at 100% and get your fitness and your sharpness as strong as possible."