LEE McCULLOCH is confident that Rangers' friendly with Derby today is the perfect warm-up act for their cup clash against Hibs next week.
Ally McCoist's side head south of the border for their final friendly of the summer just days before their Championship rivals visit Ibrox on Petrofac Training Cup duty.
And former Wigan star McCulloch is relishing the Rams challenge.
"The Derby game is going to be a real test for us," he told rangers.co.uk.
"They just missed out on promotion at the end of last season and we know they have very good attacking players, including a few Scots.
"They are also good in the middle of the park so I think they will be one of the favourites to go up next year from the Championship.
"It's going to be an excellent game for us and it's a great stadium to go to. I've played a few times there and scored as well.
"I think I was also sent off but we'll not mention that!
"Pride Park, as it was previously known, is a great ground though and there's always a good atmosphere.
"I expect that to be the same when we go down there, particularly with the number of Rangers fans travelling.
"Hopefully with the following we have we can give them something to shout about by putting in a good performance.
"This summer so far we've played mixed opposition. The teams we faced in North America were very fit and that was the test for us - I think it was more of a fitness test than a football test.
"Now that we have got that up, this is a proper game of football against a strong side and it's perfect to set us up for the big Hibs and Hearts games we have coming up next week."
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