Rangers have dismissed Nikica Jelavic's claim that he did not demand a move from Ibrox to Everton.
Ibrox chairman Craig Whyte told fans in an open letter this week that he sanctioned the departure of the club's top goalscorer partly because the striker wanted to leave the Scottish champions.
However, Jelavic claimed on Thursday he did not force the reported £5.5million switch to Goodison Park - prompting Rangers to respond to those comments by claiming he made it clear he wanted to quit Ibrox.
Chief operations officer Ali Russell said: "Nikica told Ally McCoist personally on Monday he wanted to move to the English Premier League so to suggest he didn't want to leave Rangers is nonsense.
"Nikica, and indeed his family, were widely quoted throughout January about playing in England and his agent also communicated the fact he wanted to achieve a lifetime ambition and test himself in the Premier League.
"He wants to earn a starting place for Croatia at Euro 2012 and felt a move to England's top flight would help him achieve that.
"Nikica was a terrific player for Rangers and we wish him well at Everton but to suggest he was forced to leave Ibrox is just ridiculous."
Earlier in the day, Jelavic told a media conference: "My dream was to play in the English Premier League but I never forced my transfer.
"I spoke with Ally McCoist and said if the president wants me to stay I'll stay and if they need money and want me to leave, I'll leave - the club decided."
Meanwhile, McCoist hopes home advantage proves to be the difference as Rangers aim to end a lengthy wait for a victory over Dundee United in the William Hill Scottish Cup.
United have come out on top in the last three meetings with the Glasgow giants in the competition.
In fact, the last Rangers player to score a winner against the Tannadice side in the Scottish Cup was McCoist back in 1989.
The manager is well aware of the task facing his players on Sunday but is keen to ensure progression beyond the fifth round tie at Ibrox.
He told www.rangers.co.uk: "They beat us in the cup not too long ago after a 3-3 draw at Ibrox when they got a late goal up at Tannadice in the replay.
"United went on to win the cup that season when they beat Ross County in the final so it turned out to be a great one for them.
"They are always tough opponents. They played well at Celtic Park recently when they only lost 2-1.
"So it's a really tough draw for us but I'm a believer that in a cup draw you have one wish and that's for a home tie and that's what we have.
"We'll have to work hard to go through, there's no doubt about that because they have some good players in their side.
"They have players capable of scoring goals with Johnny Russell and Jon Daly so it's a big tie for us but one that we're looking forward to.
"They're capable of troubling any team in the division on their day so we'll know what to expect."
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