His arrival would provide a welcome boost to a Rangers team which has struggled badly in recent weeks and now face a must-win situation on Sunday against current SPL leaders and bitter rivals Celtic.
Arthur Numan has already said that he and his team-mates have 90 minutes to save their season after two more precious points were tossed away against the Pars at the weekend.
Power problems at the ground placed serious doubt on Saturday’s fixture in Fife and Advocaat must now be wishing it had been abandoned as he watched his side’s flickering title hopes suffer yet another jolt.
The Gers could only manage a 0-0 draw against Dunfermline and it’s that result which has almost put the lights out on their already stuttering championship challenge. The reality, though, is that they must win on Sunday to keep it alive.
It was a dull encounter in the Kingdom of Fife with chances few and far between for either side but it proved costly for the Light Blues who now find themselves 15 points behind Martin O’Neill’s side – who beat Hearts 6-1 at home – ahead of the crucial Old Firm encounter.
Stefan Klos made a return from injury and Advocaat played a 3-5-2 formation with Lorenzo Amoruso, Scott Wilson and Bert Konterman all in the heart of the rearguard and Arthur Numan and Tony Vidmar operating as wing-backs.
Captain Barry Ferguson was in the centre of midfield with Jorg Albertz and Ronald De Boer either side of him and Michael Mols and Kenny Miller up front.
The Rangers players took to the field 15 minutes later than expected due to the problem with the power and they would have had an extra spring in their step with the news that Celtic were already a Colin Cameron goal down to Hearts by the time they kicked off.
You would have thought that would have given them the incentive to take the game to Dunfermline but it was the home side who made the brightest start, Jason Dair bringing a superb save out of Klos early in the game.
The Light Blues struggled immensely to get to grips with the game and were quite often second to the ball against a pumped-up Pars side. However, their new signing Youssef Rossi was a bit too keen in the 18th minute and he picked up a booking for a tackle from behind on Miller.
Rangers made very few clear cut chances and they had to wait until the stroke of half-time before creating a real opening. Konterman played a lovely ball which found Ferguson in acres of space inside the Pars box but there was nobody waiting to finish off the move and the youngster’s pass across the face of goal drifted out of play.
Advocaat’s men lacked urgency in the first half and that was something the Dutchman had to change when his players went into the dressing room at the break.
And in the early stages of the second half he appeared to have succeeded with Rangers – and Mols in particular – looking much more lively.
It was neat play by the Dutchman which handed Miller an opportunity five minutes after the re-start but the former Hibs man couldn’t find the back of the net with Andreas Skerla and Rossi making life difficult for him.
Once again Ferguson lead by example and was the one player who showed real desire and he almost gave Rangers the lead in the 55th minute but he watched in disbelief as his superb 25-yard rocket shot cannoned off Marco Ruitenbeek’s left-hand post.
Then 11 minutes later Amoruso charged up the park and threaded a great ball through to De Boer but there was more frustration in front of goal as the Dutchman couldn’t convert with just the ‘keeper to beat.
The damage could have been much worse for Rangers when David Moss was one-on-one with Klos in the 79th minute but he misjudged his attempted chip shot and the Gers players – not to mention the fans – breathed a huge sigh of relief.
However, even that couldn’t hide the disappointment felt by the majority of the 11,250 crowd inside East End Park as they contemplate what will now be a nervy Old Firm encounter at Ibrox next Sunday. It’s a game everyone knows Rangers MUST win, with or without Tore Andre Flo.
DUNFERMLINE: Ruitenbeek, Dair, Skinner, Skerla, Thomson, Crawford, Bullen (May 60), Moss, Nicholson, Rossi, McGroarty (Hampshire 72) Subs not used: Thomson, Matthaei, Coyle
RANGERS: Klos, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Mols (McCann 68), Albertz, De Boer, Konterman, Wilson, Miller, Vidmar Subs: Christiansen, Dodds, Tugay, Ross
Bookings: Dunfermline – Rossi (18); Rangers – Vidmar (41), Ferguson (88), Miller (90)
Attendance: 11,250
Referee: Dougie McDonald