Rangers manager Mark Warburton has backed his captain Lee Wallace to star for Scotland as they take on England next week, believing he will thrive in the big-match Wembley atmosphere.

With Celtic’s Kieran Tierney and Hull’s Andrew Robertson both injured for the Group F showdown next Friday night, Wallace will battle it out with Swansea City youngster Stephen Kingsley for the left-back berth.

Warburton says that if Wallace is good enough to captain Rangers, then he is certainly good enough to start for Scotland in what is a crucial match if the nation’s faint qualification hopes for the World Cup are to remain alive.

“I'm delighted for Lee,” Warburton said. “He fully deserves his call-up.

“I've no doubts Lee Wallace is ready to go down to Wembley and start. His application, his approach, his commitment and his fitness make him an outstanding captain for Rangers.

"If you are an outstanding captain for Rangers and someone says you are not good enough for Scotland then there's an issue.

"Playing at Wembley won't faze him. He's a mature player and he will enjoy it. After the St Johnstone game we mentioned to the players they had to enjoy it.

“They could be running out in front of 3000 or 4000 fans - instead of 50,000 fans at Ibrox. What would you rather do? What will you be talking about in 20 years, the 3000 crowds or the 50,000 crowds?

“So for Lee Wallace to play England at Wembley in a game of this significance? He will just enjoy it.”

One man who missed out in yesterday’s Scotland squad announcement was Rangers winger Barrie McKay, with the 21-year-old also losing his place in the Rangers team for the last two fixtures after inconsistent showings this term.

While McKay’s form has tailed off of late, Warburton is hoping that resting the youngster will see him back to his best and into contention again at both club and international level.

"It's disappointing for Barrie,” he said. “He's a young player, and he's impressed so many people.

"I've not spoken to Gordon [Strachan] yet but I'm sure he will speak to the players and I will have good dialogue with him.

"Will I have a word with Barrie? I think we take for granted, because he performs at a high level, that he is just 21. He is a young player and we need to make sure we look after him.

“It's easy to keep playing them but they are still young and their bodies are still changing and getting used to the demands and the expectations.”

While wishing his own player well at Wembley, Warburton doesn’t disguise the fact that he will be hoping for a repeat of the result when he watched the Auld Enemy clash some 20 years ago under the old twin towers.

And he believes that the Scots shouldn’t be kidded that the game doesn’t mean as much to the England players as it does to them.

"I may have a slight leaning towards one of the two teams,” he said. “I was at the game at Euro 96 which was magnificent for many different reasons.

"It was a great fixture with a magnificent atmosphere and it will be the same again this month.

“England v Scotland is a great game, the Auld Enemy, and I'm sure everyone will enjoy it.

“I went to every England game [at Euro ‘96], right through to the final, and loved it. I was devastated when Gazza missed by a stud's length. I had six tickets for the final - football nearly came home.

“It means everything - of course it does. The expectation on the England players is so high. The expectation on the FA and the coaching staff is so high. They are desperate.

“To pull on an international jersey - every Scotland player will know exactly what is expected of them by the public quite rightly, and every England player will be fully aware of the implications.

“It is in the blood. If I hear Jim Stewart mention 1967 one more time I may fall out with him. I have offered him a draw but he wouldn't take it.

“I have given one of my staff members a one goal start, and he said ‘okay I will do a tenner!’ That is all I am saying.”

Warburton has meanwhile welcomed the news that Rangers will take on Scotland starlet Oliver Burke’s RB Leipzig on January 15th in order to stay sharp during the winter break.

“I’ve got issues with the three week break, so we have to arrange a game,” he said. “We wanted to give the boys five or six days off and then we’ll come back and prepare for the week and we wanted a high quality fixture in the build up to our Scottish Cup tie.

“We don’t know yet who we’ll play or whether that game will be a Friday, Saturday or Sunday but we wanted a top quality fixture and they’re second top of the Bundesliga behind Munich.

“It’s a fixture we’re looking forward to and, obviously, Ollie Burke is there too and they’re well backed, a wealthy club who are making great strides. It will be a tough test but you have to take yourself out of your comfort zones.

“There was an option of a top quality tournament [in Florida], but we might have had to have come back on the Tuesday morning with a cup tie on the Friday night.

“Had we been drawn away to Inverness or Aberdeen, could you imagine the headlines? We couldn’t take that risk. Headlines would have been Mickey Mouse and the likes, it doesn’t bear thinking about!”