ABERDEEN v RANGERS

KILMARNOCK gaffer Lee McCulloch has given the Rugby Park home dressing room a makeover to get his tactics across.

McCulloch has introduced a “pitch” on the floor. The design was unveiled on the club’s Twitter account last night. ABERDEEN away. To this day they remain two of my favourite words in football.

If you ever needed a fixture to get the adrenalin pumping and the heart thumping against your rib cage then a trip to the north east was just the ticket.

Trust me when I say as a Rangers player there is only one place in all of Scotland where you are guaranteed a more hostile reception.

And to tell you the truth sometimes it felt as if they hated the sight of you even more at Pittodrie than they did at Celtic Park.

So I know exactly what Rangers will be walking into when they arrive there on Sunday morning and what they can expect from the locals.

Some will be downright nasty. Most of it will be horrible. The whole atmosphere will feel so heavy and intense that it makes the stomach start to churn.

And I would give my right arm to be right there with them in the thick of it.

I always looked at trips to Pittodrie like we were going into a boxing match. You had to be prepared to dig deep and keep going for 12 rounds.

Yes, at the end of it all you might be battered and bruised but if you were still on your feet then you had won the fight. That’s what it’s like going up there.

I might be shattered. I might have taken a few blows to the chin. But look at me, I’m still standing. And that’s exactly the mentality Rangers will need if they are to pick up the three points which will keep them in contention for a second-placed finish this season.

Lose this match and they fall 15 points behind. I’m sorry but that’s simply not acceptable when you’re wearing that shirt.

They have to go up there with the right mentality. They have to believe they are going to win it, not just hope they might.

If they get the gap down to nine points then they can put a bit of pressure on Aberdeen and see how they react to it. Ask them the question and see if they can handle it. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. Far from it.

Derek McInnes has done an unbelievable job up there considering the budget constraints he has to work within. He has recruited superbly to build that team but he has obviously worked incredibly hard with these players on the training ground.

You can see they are so well drilled that they know their jobs individually and collectively and that makes them such a tough nut to crack. Their results speak volumes as you don’t clock up 10 straight home wins by accident.

But Rangers have to see this match as a challenge. They have to rise to it, not be scared. If they get a result on Sunday there is no doubt in my mind they can take second place.

There’s another game against them to come but Aberdeen also have to play Celtic and St Johnstone so there is a lot of football left.

People will ask if it really matters because third place is good enough for a European place. In that regard there is no difference but that’s not the point.

It’s not about qualification, it’s a matter of professional pride. These guys are playing for their futures. They have a new manager and they have to prove to him they deserve to be a part of his plans. They have to ask themselves how badly they want to be here.

Some of them have to prove to themselves they really have what it takes to play for Rangers because the way they performed the other night at Kilmarnock has raised more questions than answers about a good few of them.

The two young boys did fine. The big centre-half David Bates looked a bit nervous at the start which was understandable but he calmed down as the game went on and stuck to his job. The left-back Myles Beerman impressed me and looked comfortable on the ball. He looks as if he has a good future.

But the rest? To tell you the truth it was hard to take any positives out of that 0-0 draw as it has put the new manager on the back foot.

Kenny Miller, as always, added the kind of energy and drive you expect from a Rangers player when he came on at half-time. And he’s exactly the kind of guy that you would want with you in the trenches at a place like Pittodrie.

I’m sure the manager appreciates that already. He’s lucky to have a leader like Kenny in his dressing room.

It’s early days where Pedro Caixinha is concerned and no one should be rushing to conclusions. He’s only had three games in charge so let’s keep things in a bit of perspective.

He’s still trying to get his ideas across to the players and to find a system he feels comfortable with. These things take time.

He can’t change personnel so can only play with the cards he’s been dealt until the transfer market opens in the

It’s early days for Caixinha – he’s only had three games in charge –