Eremenko not taking Rangers lightly

But the Finland international insists Ally McCoist's Championship outfit will be just as tough to beat as the star-studded line-up he saw four years ago.

Former Ruben Kazan midfielder Eremenko's last meeting with the Light Blues was during his first Killie sting in January 2011.

The Glasgow giants cantered to a 3-0 win that day with a team featuring the likes of Allan McGregor, Madjid Bougherra, Steven Davis and Steven Naismith.

But McCoist can only dream of calling on that quality of player these days, with skipper Lee McCulloch and defender Richard Foster the only survivors of the club's last title-winning squad.

Killie will now travel to Ibrox for the first time since Rangers were banished to the lower leagues in the summer of 2012 for Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round but Eremenko insists Killie need to be wary.

He said: "There are two big games for teams like us, and that's against Celtic and Rangers - even if Rangers are in a lower division.

"Let's not fool ourselves. It's still Rangers, even if things are not going well for them.

"Okay they have problems off the pitch but it is still Rangers, still a big team and of course they are the favourites.

"The last time I played then was in 2010 and there are not many players from that time left. It's a different team but still that does not matter because when you play Rangers, it is always hard.

"You know what they say about taking on a wounded animal. It's dangerous.

"We cannot just think that Rangers are lost and have problems. That is the last thing you should do against a team in difficulty."

Rangers may be a shadow of their pre-liquidation self but with the likes of Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller and Lewis Macleod on their books, Eremenko insists they still offer a threat.

But the Russia-born 31-year-old also knows after losing last week to Hearts, the pressure is all on McCoist's men.

"Yes we have just as many good individuals as Rangers," said Eremenko. "But it's difficult to look at it like that.

"You can be Ronaldo and have a day off. You can have six days when you train like Maradona but then come into the game and you haven't slept well and have a bad 90 minutes.

"It's about what happens on the pitch.

"To face a big club like Rangers at Ibrox, there is a plus and a minus. They have the pressure on them but they are playing at home. It's not straightforward.

"We are from the higher division, though, so it's a strange situation. But we won't prepare thinking that we are taking on a lower-league team. We are preparing thinking that it is Rangers."

Killie head to Glasgow desperately short of form after four successive defeats.

But Eremenko is eager to dig his side out of their slump, saying: "We are still trying to find ourselves. It is a totally new team. We are still trying to work things out.

"If I can play that game I know I can play at the top level, then we have a good chance.

"But over the last three games I have not been satisfied with my own performance. I want to do more.

"I want to create more chances and I want be more involved."