title -- and revenge -- when they take on Barbados in the final at BAA Field tonight.

Barbados beat them 3-2 in the first game of the tournament last Sunday, but the Scottish youngsters looked to be seriously affected by the heat and humidity -- an enormous contrast to what they're used to at home.

And coach John Chalmers, none too happy with the result at the time, admits now the 16-hour journey from Glasgow may have taken its toll.

"I don't think we realised at the time how hard that had been on the boys and how much it had taken out of them,'' he said yesterday. "But we've improved in each game since then and that's what you'd hope to do -- build up to the final.

"Last year we did the opposite, playing our best football early on. Hopefully it will be the other way about this time.'' Chalmers added: "What you also have to appreciate is that while all these boys play for Rangers they don't all play in the same team because of the age range. Although they may have trained together, this is the first time they've played together as a team and that showed in the first couple of games.'' Indeed Rangers, who won the first tournament in 1996 but were beaten by the US in the final 12 months ago, seem now to have found their feet and are likely to give Barbados, for whom four-goal striker Riviere Williams has been outstanding, a sterner test.

"I think the fact that we lost to Barbados gives us a wee bit of an incentive but you could equally say that they'll have a bit of confidence having beaten us,'' said Chalmers, a former St Mirren player.

"But as I said before the game with Bermuda we'll not concentrate too much on Barbados, we'll go out and focus on ourselves and our own performance. It should be a good final.'' Bermuda, meanwhile, who started out with high hopes at the beginning of the week, must once again be content to contest the consolation final following their defeat against Rangers on Wednesday night.

It was perhaps their misfortune to meet the Scots at that stage of the competition when they were running into form.

Coach Mark Trott, who was pleased with the way his team kept going and refused to give up, will be hoping to finish on a high against the US, who they drew 3-3 with on Tuesday in the group match, as the under 17s look ahead to competing in the Cayman Islands in September.

Trott said: "We've always been using this tournament as preparation for that tournament and I've told the guys to keep focussed.''