As interest in the Gers UEFA cup final clash with Russian side Zenit St Petersburg reaches fever pitch, one of the province's leading sportswear retailers has run out of replica shirts.

Thousands of local fans have made the journey to Manchester for tonight's showdown.

But although hundreds may not make it onto the ground — given the meagre 13,000 ticket allocation for the club — many have snapped up the remaining shirts, which have been flying off the shelves since the Glasgow giants made it through to the finals two weeks ago.

JJB Sports manager at Belfast's Royal Avenue branch, Chris Gordon, last night confirmed: "We haven't stopped selling Rangers shirts for the last two days. Come this afternoon, there will be none left."

As the Russian club and Scottish side line up for tonight's 7.45pm kick- off at the City of Manchester Stadium, one enthusiastic supporter, 30-year-old Belfast banker Neil Magill, will hopefully be among those watching from the stands.

"Five of us are taking the boat over to Liverpool at 8pm, but we only have four tickets," he told the Belfast Telegraph last night. "I got mine for £55 through Rangers Travel Club and three of the others were lucky enough to buy theirs from friends at face value. We're still trying to get another one for our mate Brian, but if we can't he's happy enough to watch it in a fanzone with other supporters."

Mr Magill said they were looking forward to the game £ and expecting a good performance: "It's going to be hard but I think we can do it. The fact that it's in Manchester means it's almost a home game for us. My money is on Steve Davis scoring and the finalresult 1-0," he said.

Over at Sandy Row Rangers Club, however, bar manager Warren Miller (39) said that none of their 15-strong group — travelling on this morning's 7am Stenaline service from Belfast to Stranraer — had managed to secure tickets.

"We didn't get any because the allocation was so small, but we're just going to watch it from wherever we can get into," he said, also predicting a 1-0 victory for the Gers.

Elsewhere, others claim to have paid over the odds for the prized tickets: " I paid £600 for mine," said Thomas Mathers, secretary of Ardoyne Rangers Supporters Club.

"I got another three, two of them for £600 and one for £500. We're picking them up over there from friends."

But while there may have been ticket-related difficulties, transport seemed to pose less of a problem for Northern Ireland fans.

Both Belfast airports last night said they had been exceptionally busy in the run-up to the game.

Belfast International spokeswoman Deborah Matchett said: "Between tonight and tomorrow, all three flights to Manchester are fully booked and BMI are putting a lot of that down to the match," she said.

A spokesman for George Best City Airport also said: "Most of the flights to Manchester are operating to near capacity and the early morning ones are all fully booked," he said.

Meanwhile, ferry operator Stenaline is operating a special package for Northern Ireland fans, which includes an overnight stay in Blackpool. The Dublin-Holyhead route is another option expected to be used by those travelling by sea.