They have been snapping up rooms across Greater Manchester in preparation for a historical night for their club.

Rangers will play Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg, who boast the blues former manager Dick Advocaat at the helm, in the final of the UEFA Cup tomorrow.

It will be held at the City of Manchester Stadium, home of Manchester City.

The proximity of Wigan to Manchester, and the regular public transport links between the two, means there is barely a bed to be had anywhere in Wigan, never mind the host city.

Premier Inn has five hotels in Wigan, including the Britannia Inn in Standish, and all are fully booked on the night of the historic clash.

It is both teams first appearance in a major European final and promises to be a special occasion for all involved.

A spokesman for Premier Inn said: "We are fully booked that night and a lot of that is people coming over to watch the match.
"We are not sure exactly how quickly the hotels filled up but there is not a room to be had now.

"Our next closest hotel with any vacancies is the Wirral so we are going to have a very busy night in these parts."

Following Rangers' semi-final penalty shoot-out victory over Italian side Fiorentina last week, LateRooms.com experienced a 500% surge in calls from fans desperate to be around for what could be their sides greatest hour.

All 44,000 tickets for the final have been sold, with both sets of fans taking their full ticket allocations, and Greater Manchester Police has been preparing for the final for months.

The police commander for the fixture, Chief Supt Gerry Donnellan, met with officials from both clubs to finalise arrangements last week.

This will include two fan zones in the city to cater for both sets of supporters.
The final will be the culmination of nine months hard work and planning.

Chief Supt Donnellan said: "There are two fantastic teams hoping to get their hands on a major European trophy and we are thrilled at having been chosen to host such an exciting fixture."