GRAEME MURTY believes he can welcome Pedro Caixinho to Rangers with a win over Celtic - as the Portuguese stands on the verge of being confirmed as the new manager.

Qatari club Al-Gharafa have given the 46-year-old permission to join the Ibrox club and Mark Warburton's replacement will NOT be in charge for Sunday's Old Firm match.

That task will be given to Murty who will step aside next week when Caixinho will be unveiled.

A statement from Al-Gharafa said: "Approval is in the interests of the club financially, especially when the coach's contract expires in 45 days.

"The coach's desire to exploit the opportunity to move the Rangers was stronger than our desire to continue."

It is doubtful whether Caixinho will be at Celtic Park and interim manager Murty is hopeful he has found the answer to upsetting the odds at Parkhead

He said: "I’ve got a clear understanding of what it’s going to take and I’ve got a clear understanding of some of the principles that I would like to instil in the players if I was to take charge of the game, and a clear understanding in my mind of what it’s going to take to get a positive result.

"It’s not rocket science, you have to cope with what they are going to bring to the party and it’s down to players supporting one another and actually embracing the challenge and not being fearful.

“These are going to be really big elements, regardless of any tactical changes or formations or anything, it’s about players standing up at Parkhead and that’s going to be vitally important.

“The more I see of this game, the more I’m convinced that we need to embrace more advanced techniques in getting into players’ minds and their mind set and hoping they will be mentally stronger and be better decision makers under pressure, because that is what it comes down to.

“The best players in the world make the best decisions 99 percent of the time and that’s why they are at the top of their profession.”

Rangers supporters remain sore at the memory of the 5-1 humiliation in September, the game which told Scottish football how this campaign would pan out for both sides.

Murty hopes lessons have been learned from all the games, but especially that one, which can be taken into episode four of what will be a six-part Old Firm series.

“As a squad you look at the reasons why, you look at when we’ve had success against them and when we’ve done well, and I’m a big believer in acknowledging what they are good at to prepare fully," said Murty when speaking to Rangers TV.

“So look at what they are good at and say ‘fantastic’, but once you acknowledge it and once you say ‘this is what they are going to try and do and this is where their strengths are’ you then make the players and yourself accountable to what happens after that.

"The game previously at Parkhead isn’t something to be fearful of or to shy away from, it is something to learn from and if you are going to learn the lessons and go and move forward, I think that is really important. I do think, however, that Celtic have changed since then, I think they’ve evolved.

“I think they’ve strengthened in certain areas, they do things slightly differently, so we have to just take what they are going to bring but try and understand that it’s going to be about us and how we manage our expectations of our group.”