From liquidation to boardroom coups, Rangers skipper Lee Wallace has seen it all when it comes to off-field strife during his Ibrox career.

And that's why the left-back can say with a straight face that the Joey Barton storm has barely made him blink.

Controversial midfielder Barton is currently serving a three-week suspension following on from the blazing training-ground row that is threatening his Light Blues future.

That matter has still to be resolved but Wallace is adamant that whatever happens from now on, it will not affect a squad which has grown accustomed to battening down the hatches in recent years.

The captain said: "We put all that stuff into the background - that's just how we operate. For any game we have, the build-up is purely focused on the football.

"Unfortunately over the years we've had a lot go on outside the footballing side - we're used to it now.

"The only way we know as professionals in that dressing room how to react is to come in here and work hard every day."

Wallace and his team will have to work even harder just to make themselves heard when they come up against a wall of hostility on Sunday.

Gers are set to make their first visit to Aberdeen in four years for a match that could effectively decide whether they remain in the Ladbrokes Premiership title race just seven games into the season.

So far, Mark Warburton's team have managed just two wins and have already suffered the humiliation of a 5-1 Old Firm defeat.

But Wallace feels the green shoots of recovery have been evident in last weekend's stalemate at home to Ross County and Tuesday's Betfred Cup quarter-final romp over Queen of the South.

All that could be threatened though as the Dons support look to create an atmosphere with as much venom as the one that crashed down on Gers heads at Celtic Park earlier this month.

Wallace, however, said: "We've got Aberdeen on Sunday but the momentum is slowly getting there.

"I've got more experience of Pittodrie from being a Hearts player but we know there's a fierce rivalry between the clubs.

"We know that historically but it's going to be something new for this group of players.

"But at the end of the day it's just another game of football for us. Aberdeen are just another opponent standing in the way of us and three points.

"We do feel that when we go away from home, the opposition fans are gunning for us - but we're used to it.

"These are things we can't control. As a professional you just need to shut it off. Of course it can affect the noise levels but all we can do as players is control what happens out there on the park.

"I think we've got the players in our dressing room who can deal with that hostility and the tension that will be apparent."

Gers have been stung by the criticism that has followed their lacklustre start to the campaign but Wallace - last season's PFA Scotland Championship player of the year - is happy enough to admit that his own performances so far have not been up to scratch.

"I know myself, and I don't need anybody to tell me, that I'm still searching for my best form," he said.

"I'm a deep thinker and all I want to do is get that form back. I know it's a contribution I can make to the team.

"There's a couple of guys who could be thinking the same but we are a team. It's never about one individual.

"But I'm working hard to get my form back and hopefully I can contribute to the team better than I have done in these opening games."