Nothing seems able to stop the crackling smile of the Spaniard, who like every other Rangers player had to endure a miserable week when today's opponents, Motherwell, played in Europe while the Ibrox giants did not.

Novo has made just three SPL appearances, starting against Aberdeen at Pittodrie and coming on as a substitute against Celtic and Kilmarnock – he was credited with doing much to revive Rangers in that latter match. He has also suffered the pain of seeing his name linked to violent threats on the internet, though nothing compared to the "agony", as Walter Smith called it, of missing out on Europe. Yet still he finds reasons to be cheerful.

"It was quite a disappointment for us," said Novo. "It's always hard when you don't have the European matches. At Rangers and Celtic you need to play in Europe every year, you need to be in the Champions League, because it is good for the club and for Scottish football. But there's nothing we can do about it now.

"I watched every match on television, and it was a bit hard to do. But I hope the Scottish teams do well."

Even Celtic? "The best thing for Scottish football is a higher co-efficient, that's my opinion. For Motherwell it was fantastic for them to be there and it was disappointing for them to lose, but they played really well."

Last season, Rangers eventually lost the title to Celtic after a gruelling run-in that saw them play almost week in, week out in the UEFA Cup, as well as making up for lost dates earlier in the season.

They repeatedly played matches on the Sunday against teams which had enjoyed a whole week to prepare. Today, the situation is reversed and it is Motherwell who are coming off a tough midweek encounter in Europe while the Ibrox men even had the luxury of a day off training during the week. Whisper it, but three of their new boys also had some unscheduled time off when the diesel spill on the M8 on Friday caused them to get lost for hours in the back streets of north Glasgow.

"It is early in the season and I don't think it will be too hard for Motherwell," said Novo. "It will be a tough game for us because they are a good side with a strong mentality and they work hard."

Novo says he, too, will work hard to get into the starting line-up and played down the impact he made against Kilmarnock: "It's quite hard for me not starting games, but I just try to keep doing what I am told to do. No one player changes a game, and in the second half the whole team played good football."

Now in his seventh season in the SPL, Novo says the league is "more exciting" than ever: "The other clubs can take points from the Old Firm because they have good young players coming through. The league is much more competitive. I would love to win every game, but Hibs, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hearts and Falkirk are all playing good football. There are no easy games where we win 5-0, 6-0 and scores like that."

Meanwhile, Smith has emphatically rubbished conflicting reports that injured club captain Barry Ferguson was either going to return prematurely or much later than planned – "rubbish" was indeed the word he used.

According to Smith, Ferguson is recovering exactly as scheduled. "It will be the middle of next month before he returns to training," said the manager.

There was better news on Steven Smith who has been sidelined yet again with injury. "He was facing the prospect of an operation but the specialist didn't really want to do it unless it was really necessary," said Smith. "He has started running and had no problems, so hopefully he will be back in training soon."

As with last season, Rangers will need every player in their squad if they are to last out until next May. Ferguson and Smith will surely get their chance, and if he keeps on having an impact off the bench, Novo will surely get those coveted starts.