Corby Town play host to Rangers on Tuesday evening, as the Scottish Champions head south of the border to officially open Steel Park in a glamour friendly.

Ally McCoist is sending down a strong squad for the game too, despite a number of players being away with their respective countries on international duty.

Legendry captain David Weir is expected to lead out the Gers at Steel Park, with first team regulars Gregg Wylde, Juan Ortiz, Alejandro Bedoya and Kirk Broadfoot all making the trip to Northamptonshire.

The Ibrox club have also named Scotland’s Kirin Cup winning goalkeeper Neil Alexander amongst the travelling party, along with promising youngsters Kane Hemmings, Darren Cole, John Fleck and Ross Perry.

The Steelmen head into the match having lost just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions, and will be eager to keep up their momentum ahead of Saturday’s all important FA Cup with Budweiser First Round fixture against npower League 2 Bristol Rovers.

Rangers are in fine form too, with Ally McCoist’s charges still unbeaten in the SPL after 14 games, a run which included an impressive 4-2 victory over bitter rivals Celtic in September.

Graham Drury’s men can take some confidence from the Gers form outside of Europe so far in 2011/12 however, having been beaten in the Champions League by Malmo and the Europa League by Maribor in August. Tuesday’s match will provide a chance for the Glasgow giants to finally claim a victory on foreign soil, with another European friendly lined up against Hamburg on Tuesday 29^th November.

A large crowd is expected at Steel Park for the commemorative friendly, with thousands of Light Blue’s fans living in the town.

The Scots' sense of heritage, as ex-pats, is often stronger when away than when on home turf. So when Stewarts and Lloyds' new workforce journeyed south to Corby back in 1933, you could almost hear the pipes coming. From Highland games to haggis and from Burns to bannocks, Corby became a Scots encampment within England. At one point, it was estimated that over 70% of the population of Corby were of Scottish descent. 

Their entrenched passion for football, with its inherent partisan old firm divide, was as strong as ever. Work was certainly the pulling factor, but football was all every man and boy lived for, each Saturday in the season; and it still is. Today, even with the demise of the steel industry, the Rangers Supporters Club in Corby is the largest such club outside of Glasgow.