THE COWBOY, somewhat appropriately, has a calf injury. But Rafael Pompeu Rodriguez Ledesma still has Rangers in his sights. "He will play if he is only 70% fit," Nerijus Kesminas, Lithuania's leading football commentator, says of the 25-year-old Brazilian playmaker who is central to the hopes of FBK Kaunas as they attempt to block Rangers' efforts to reach the business end of the Champions League.

"He is the real leader of the team," said Kesminas of the signing from Atletico Mineiro, who is known as the Gaucho or The Cowboy. "He is at a different level from anyone else in the Lithuanian league."

Indeed one bewildered manager said after a meeting with a Ledesma-inspired FBK Kaunas: "We have not yet found a away to stop him. I don't think we ever will."

But what raises Ledesma above the rest? "Technically, he is a very assured player," says Kesminas. "He has the vision and the skill to cause any team problems. He can go on to play for a bigger team in a bigger league."

Ledesma, who has been described variously as a midfielder and a striker, is the archetypal Brazilian No.10. He plays just off the front man and had a better than average strike rate of 13 goals in 33 games for Kaunas last season. However, his influence goes beyond goals. "He is the leader of the team," says Kesminas. "He is the most important component of the side. He takes the free-kicks and corner kicks and dictates the way the team plays."

This testimony is supported by Gediminas Reklaitis, a sports journalist with the Kauno Diena newspaper in Lithuania. "Ledesma is mainly the general on the pitch," he says. "He also is a very good finisher - quick and with good technical skills. His ability to create in the midfield and also score goals is vital for Kaunas, especially in European games."

Could Ledesma play for a leading club? Kesminas believes he would be worth a chance but Reklaitis is more cautious.

"This is hard to answer when you consider that he plays against poor Lithuanian guys in our championship and poor-man Lithuanians from Andorra," he says referring to FBK Kaunas's victory over Santa Columa in the first preliminary round of the Champions League qualifying.

"I have heard some talk about Hearts after last season, when he was voted the best player in the Lithuanian league," says Reklaitis. "Maybe he will move this year, especially if Kaunas's European season ends next week. I believe, however, that the physical nature of Scottish football doesn't suit his game."

"Sometimes he seems too quiet, takes a day off," says Reklaitis. "That could be a motivational issue." Ledesma's injury, too, has highlighted concerns that he may be burned out. "Fatigue is getting to him," confirms Reklaitis. "If he has someone on his back for the whole game, that could be a problem too."

He believes, however, that Ledesma will play against Rangers. "He has practised at the training camp in Germany. He is obviously not at full strength but I would say it's a match-day decision," he adds.

Both commentators agree that all hopes of Kaunas progressing lie on Ledesma's shoulders. Walter Smith has already identified the Brazilian as the most potent weapon in the FKB Kaunas armoury and the major obstacle to Rangers making the last qualifying round.

Champions League football has become an expectation for Rangers but Kesminas says it only a dream for FKB Kaunas, a club sponsored by Vladimir Romanov's Ukio Bankas organisation.

But both he and Kesminas believe Rangers will progress without too much fuss. "The situation is made worse," says Kesminas,"because I don't believe Rangers will under-estimate Kaunas."

FBK Kaunas also have a new manager in Jose Couceiro, the former FC Porto and Portugal Under-21 coach. Couceiro, 45, has said his trip to Lithuania was in search "of a new challenge".

Just what this challenge constitutes is a matter of intrigue. The Portugese manager has been reported as accepting the job of national team coach to run in tandem with the FKB Kaunas post. However, sources in in Kaunas could not confirm this last night. But given Romanov's huge influence in Lithuanian football's affairs, it seems more than a possibility.

"It seems that he would be interested in the national team manager's position which is available now," says Reklaitis. "He definitely has some promises from Mr Romanov because I don't see him coming to such a football village like Lithuania only to work with Kaunas."

There are already doubts, however, about the ability of Couceiro to make an impact. Some commentators are dismantling the Portugese's record. "He doesn't seem like a winner to me," says Reklaitis.

Rangers, with Barry Ferguson and Carlos Cuellar out through injury, are approaching the tie with some trepidation. But FKB Kaunas have their doubts, too. They are aware that they need to have The Cowboy if they are to survive the Ibrox shoot-out.