THE rain which has drenched central Scotland in the past week is likely to be a greater obstacle to Enrico Annoni's debut for Celtic than securing his international clearance.

The Italian FA transferred the necessary documentation to Glasgow early yesterday morning, allowing the former AS Roma defender to be registered in plenty off time for today's visit to Motherwell.

But Fir Park was unplayable yesterday morning and the heavy, intermittent showers of the afternoon would not help to improve the conditions. It is likely, however, that the Lanarkshire club will leave any possible pitch inspection until this morning.

Should the game go ahead, Annoni will not have the opportunity to meet his probable future partner in central defence, Alan Stubbs. The big Englishman misses the match because of suspension. Jorge Cadete, who missed last Monday's Scottish Cup tie because of an international commitment with Portugal, will return, but manager Tommy Burns has injury doubts over full-back Jackie McNamara and midfielder David Hannah.

"We lost on our last visit to Motherwell," said Burns, "so nobody needs to tell us how difficult it tends to be. It will be a time for concentration and application." Apart from victory in the last meeting at Fir Park, the home side are buoyed by their 5-1 victory over Raith Rovers at Stark's Park on Tuesday.

There are also anxieties at Ibrox over the prospect of the Rangers-Hibernian match taking place tomorrow afternoon. Rangers have already lost one game to the weather this week, the one against Dundee United on Wednesday.

Much drier conditions will have to prevail if the Ibrox playing surface is to have a chance of being ready. Paul Gascoigne has less chance than the pitch, with his damaged ankle still in plaster and his prospects of a return delayed another two weeks.