Terry Butcher: We’re treating Rangers like SPL opposition ahead of cup tie

Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Terry Butcher has said that he is treating the cup tie between the games as he would an SPL match at Ibrox.

The quarter-final match is Rangers’ second game against top flight opposition this season and having beaten Motherwell in the previous round of the League Cup, they pose a threat that Butcher says he is acutely aware of.

“I think people will be looking to Rangers to be the favourites and quite rightly so,” he said. “They've got a bigger budget than us, a bigger budget than at least half the SPL clubs too.

“Money talks and you get quality with money. They've certainly got a lot of quality in their side.

“The way they raised their game and played very well against Motherwell really is the benchmark we look at. That is the Rangers we expect to play.

“We are prepared for that. We are treating it like an SPL game. We're going down in the morning, having a sleep in the afternoon and playing in a game.

“We feel we are playing SPL opposition.“

Inverness are unbeaten in seven games in the league but their manager was clear that his players would have to perform at their best to book a place in the last four. Butcher, a former Rangers captain who knows the atmosphere generated at Ibrox, revealed that he had spoken to his players about how to approach the match.

“It is important the occasion is going to be a very good one and that we can handle that occasion,” he said. “Then obviously the game will take care of itself.

“It's going to be different for a lot of players. They've missed out being at Ibrox in the SPL this season.

“A lot of the players that have been down there have talked to them, the newcomers especially, about what it is like.

“I spoke to the players today and said 'well, who has played in front of 40 or 45,000 crowds before?'. And a lot of the newcomers had.

“They have sampled an atmosphere that is similar to Wednesday night.“

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