From Andrew Dickson in Manchester

DICK ADVOCAAT admits he has had his Zenit players practising penalties ahead of the UEFA Cup final - but only to please the media.

The Little General will lead the Russians into the biggest match in their history against Rangers at the City of Manchester Stadium tomorrow.

Walter Smith's men have already played in three penalty shoot-outs this season, winning them all, and another sudden-death scenario is a distinct possibility.

But Advocaat said: "We practised penalties to satisfy the media because if we didn't, they would see that a mistake.

"Although we did it, hopefully we don't need them tomorrow night and we can go on to win the trophy."

Advocaat has the tournament's joint-leading scorer Pavel Pogrebnyak out through suspension but welcomes back Andrei Arshavin from a ban.

He is unlikely to change his system and doesn't expect Rangers to alter theirs much either.

Indeed, while he appreciates who the Light Blues' key performers are, he knows their biggest strength is their unity.

Advocaat added: "Carlos Cuellar is a good player, that's why he became player of the year in Scotland.

"If you end up becoming the player of the year or manager of the year in Scotland, it means a lot there.

"But we have to worry about the whole team Rangers have rather than just one or two players in particular.

"I don't think Walter will change his system if there is no reason to do it. The most important thing is to get a balance then try to get a goal and that's what they're doing."