PAUL LE GUEN'S SPL bow will come at Fir Park when he takes his new-look Rangers side to play Motherwell on July 29.

But the acid test for the former Lyon manager will arrive on September 23 as he makes the journey to Parkhead for the first Old Firm clash of the season.

Scottish Cup winners Hearts take a trip to Dunfermline.

But Setanta will move one of the big three's opening-day clashes to the Sunday to open their third season of SPL Live.

The idea of facing Le Guen holds no fears for Maurice Malpas even if it is his first game as a manager after replacing Terry Butcher.

Last night he said: "Reputations don't win games. Players win matches, depending on how they perform on the day or night.

"I can't wait for my first game and the news that we face Le Guen's Rangers makes the occasion all the sweeter for me.

"I've served my managerial apprenticeship and I want to be my own man now. This opening match will really let me know what it's like out there in the big, bad world.

"But the fact that it's Rangers holds no great fears for me. I think I'm good enough to cope as a manager and I can also draw on the experience of having handled the pressure against Rangers when I was a player.

"The other factor in my favour is that first games are notoriously unpredictable.

"Motherwell faced Gordon Strachan last season when hewas having his first Premier League match in charge of Celtic and it finished up 4-4 after we'd dragged ourselves back from 3-1 down to take the lead.

"Nobody, but nobody, could have seen that coming.

"In this day and age you have to use home advantage to the full against both halves of the Old Firm because that's your best chance of a win.

"The problem I'll have is not having a clue about what Le Guen's team will be. But the adrenalin will flow for me when the game begins because that's always the way it's been throughout my career."