Maurice Edu was given the go-ahead to complete his switch to Ibrox after being granted a work permit today, just 24 hours after Steven Davis finally sealed a permanent move from Fulham.

Rangers also boosted their ranks with the arrival of Pedro Mendes from Portsmouth last week, meaning manager Walter Smith's summer recruitment drive as yielded eight new players.

Assistant manager McCoist believes the squad is looking far healthier than the one which suffered an embarrassing European exit at the start of the campaign – but revealed Smith could yet make one final bid to beat the transfer deadline.

"I would rule nothing out," he said. "You always look to strengthen and there are another two weeks or so of the window left. If the opportunity came up and the finances were there, I think we probably would strengthen.

"You always want a wee bit more but I wouldn't say I'm not happy, you've got to be happy. But, like any coach or manager, you are always on the lookout to strengthen certain areas of your team."

Rangers face a painful return to Pittodrie today when they face Aberdeen just weeks after seeing their dreams of clinching the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title on the final day of the season killed off at the same venue.

"We will be up for tomorrow, don't worry about that," said McCoist yesterday.

"They've won one and lost one but we only have to look back to the last game of last season where they played very well and effectively killed off our title challenge.

"We are aware of just how difficult it will be."

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood is hoping Rangers' recent Pittodrie hoodoo – they have won only one and lost four of their last six games at the stadium – continues.

"We have had a good record against them in the past here and hopefully we can keep that going," he said.

Calderwood could be without four key players. Zander Diamond will definitely miss the match with a thigh strain, while Charlie Mulgrew, Scott Severin and Tommy Wright are all struggling to shake off injuries. However, Calderwood is hopeful new striker Tommy Wright will be available.