Malky Mackay insists Ross County will not fazed by the threat posed by Rangers at Victoria Park on Friday.
The Staggies are back in Premiership action this weekend, against a Gers side which struck late to defeat Aberdeen 3-2 at Pittodrie on Tuesday.
County suffered a 4-0 defeat at Ibrox when the sides last met in August.
Although Mackay acknowledges Rangers are capable of making it a difficult night for his side, he says the Staggies will approach the game with an intent to put their own stamp on it.
Mackay said: “When you are the opposition manager against the Old Firm and they are at the top of their game, it has been shown that I don’t think it matters what the opposition does.
“It can be a dangerous place to be, standing on the opposite touchline when the Old Firm are on fire.
“When you look over, the five subs that are coming on are all top players. Anyone can be then handed a defeat which crushes you, in terms of the amount of goals scored against you.
“It has been seen this year already.
“The Dundee United game, where they lost 9-0 to Celtic, puts shivers up your spine.
“It’s Rangers we are talking about, but they are the same. On any given day they can be immense.
“That’s not to say we go in there with fear and trepidation – we don’t.
“We certainly don’t take them lightly, but at the same time we try and lay a glove on them.
“We go into the game with belief, and I think over the 18 months we have shown that playing against both of them.”
Beale off to winning start at Ibrox
County will come up against the Gers for the first time since Michael Beale replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst at the helm.
Beale has won both matches he has taken charge of since his switch from QPR.
Mackay is well acquainted with Beale, who was previously part of Steven Gerrard’s coaching team at Ibrox.
Despite Beale’s short time in charge, Mackay feels he is well prepared for what to expect.
Mackay added: “I don’t think it’s more difficult because he has been there before – and he did an awful lot of the coaching.
“His philosophy was behind a lot of things in the first place, I think.
“I asked him to come and help out at a midfield masterclass at the Scottish FA for 200 of the best coaches in Scotland.
“We brought up Paul Scholes, Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher, and I asked Michael to be the academic coach on the day. He came in and did a terrific couple of hours in the morning, and he couldn’t have done enough for me to help Scottish coaches that day.
“I’ve kept in touch with him since then, and I was delighted when he got his opportunity at Queens Park Rangers after Aston Villa, because I knew he wanted to be a manager.
“That was a decent sized club in a good division, and he was making a reasonable fist of it, but when Rangers came back up I don’t think that was one anyone could turn down.
“Rangers have decided that he’s the way they’re going, and it will be good to see him on Friday night.”
Conversation