Blackburn Rovers were today bracing themselves for a second Rangers bid for Barry Ferguson.

The Glasgow giants fired the opening salvo in their quest to lure the 26-year-old back to Ibrox yesterday when they had an offer - believed to be worth £3.5 million - rejected by Rovers.

However, Gers boss Alex McLeish is now preparing to up the ante and he's expected to test Rovers' resolve with a new improved bid in the region of £5 million in the next 24 hours.

After weeks of speculation, Rangers finally showed their hand when they faxed a formal offer to Rovers yesterday afternoon.

Mark Hughes and the Blackburn board instantly rejected that and insisted the player is not for sale.

But with Ferguson indicating he would welcome a move back to Scotland, Hughes now finds himself in a difficult position at a delicate stage in the transfer window.

Rovers' chief executive, John Williams, said: "We've had a bid from Rangers for Barry Ferguson and we've told them he's not for sale.

"At the moment, we're in the process of trying to strengthen our squad rather than weaken it.

"Barry still has two and a half years left to run on his contract with us and Mark Hughes doesn't want him to leave."

Williams met with Ferguson and his agent, John Viola, on Tuesday to discuss the situation regarding the Scotland captain, who has been rumoured to be suffering from home sickness.

In that meeting, Ferguson said he was happy at Blackburn but he indicated a return to Rangers would appeal to him if his former club were to make a bid - and that offer duly came in yesterday.

Martin Bain, Rangers' director of football business, said: "We were made aware by the player's agent that Barry Ferguson may wish to leave Blackburn Rovers.

"As a result, we made an offer. However, this was rejected and we have been informed the player is not for sale."

That rejection is unlikely to deter Rangers, with Viola indicating the matter is far from closed as he said: "I don't know what will happen. It is up in the air, so we will have to wait and see."

Rovers are adamant they won't sell but they also appreciate that it doesn't make good business sense to have an unhappy player on the books indefinitely.

One possible solution may therefore be to agree a deal with Rangers that would see Ferguson stay at Rovers until the end of the season when, hopefully, the club's place in the Premiership will have been secured for a further 12 months.