Football: BURKE: I'M HERE TO STAY; Gers kid will fight for place Rangers 2 Dundee U 2.

Byline: By SCOTT DOUGLAS

RANGERS starlet Chris Burke has no intention of relinquishing his place in the first team at Ibrox.

The 22-year-old winger transformed himself from fringe player to one of the key members of Alex McLeish's side last season.

And even though Paul Le Guen is now at the helm, Burke sees no reason why that should change.

The flame-haired star twisted an ankle during the pre-season tour of South Africa and was forced to watch from the sidelines as Rangers kicked off their Bank of Scotland Premier League cmpaign.

But Burke signalled his intent when he found the back of the net within seconds of coming off the bench against Dundee United in yesterday's 2-2 draw at Ibrox.

He said: "I want to play every week. I established myself last season and I want to carry that on for the seasons head.

"When I come off the bench I expect to score or create a goal and I am happy I did that.

"But, as a team, it is disappointing that we did not win the match." Goals from Noel Hunt and Christian Kalvenes had given Dundee United a shock lead before Burke dragged Rangers back into the game.

And, on a day when the Ibrox club once again proved to be wasteful with numerous chances, the hosts were forced to rely on an own-goal by Steven Robb to rescue a point.

But Burke is not worried at the profligacy in front of goal. He insisted: "It is not worrying. It is a good thing - look at the chances we created. We have only played two games, there is still a long way to go and if we can continue to create chances like that, we will win most games.

"We should have won the match in the first half with the number of chances we had. But we have to look at the positives and think if we keep on doing that in every game, we will win more games than we will draw or lose."

Last season's top scorer Kris Boyd and new striker Filip Sebo were also thrown into action as Le Guen made use of all his forward players, although Burke had the most impact.

However, the Ibrox boss refused to take any credit. Le Guen said: "The score was 2-0 for the opponents so the changes were normal. We have good offensive players on the bench."

The draw eased the pressure on Dundee United player-manager Craig Brewster, who had been heavily criticised by chairman Eddie Thompson after last week's defeat to Falkirk. He said: "It was a decent performance."

CAPTION(S):

BURKE AND FLAIR: Chris Burke celebrates his goal then is mobbed by teammates (inset)' STUNNER: Noel Hunt fires United into the lead