Gordon Strachan believes Derek McInnes has the character and resilience to cope with the pressure of managing Rangers.
Despite a difficult start to the season with European exits at the hands of Jagiellonia Bialystok and Jablonec, Rangers have bounced back with four consecutive Premiership victories under McInnes.
This has helped restore confidence ahead of their back-to-back clashes with Celtic. Strachan has backed McInnes to handle the intense scrutiny that comes with managing Rangers.
The former Celtic manager said: "With Derek's background and the character-building moments he's had in his career, it won't be easy for him just now but somehow he can deal with it. He's a bit spiky, which I like, especially with the questions going at him. I kind of like that.
"I also think the players like that as well, that their manager isn't being bullied."
Strachan also praised the changes that McInnes has overseen since joining the club, with a number of new signings arriving over the summer. He said: "First of all, every week you have to perform as a player and a manager to keep up to the standards of what is expected of you at Rangers.
"I don't care who you are, I think it's about 14 signings now - it's not easy, and the scrutiny you come under here is a wee bit different."
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Despite his Celtic connections, Strachan hopes McInnes can make a success of his Rangers tenure, believing stronger performances across Scottish football would benefit the game as a whole. "I hope he does reasonably well there, Derek, for obvious reasons," he said.
"And I hope that the two sides, and every side in Scotland, can improve this year so that we have a better product going around the world visually, but also for next year so that we're ready for Europe."
Strachan also highlighted the growing financial challenge facing Scottish clubs, arguing that even Championship sides in England possess spending power beyond that of Scotland's leading teams.
"You have to remember that when Celtic went to Seville, they had the fifth-highest wage bill in British football," he said. "Now they can't compete with Birmingham, or even Burnley.
"Rangers were up there as well; they had a huge wage bill. In the 1980s, when Graeme Souness was there, they were as big as anybody in Britain.
"Wages are way down now."
Gordon Strachan was speaking to Midnite as part of its 'Built Different Index'.
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