ONE is the City trader turned football manager, the other is the youth coach who has worked his way from Dundee to Edinburgh via Portugal, Spain and England. Their paths will cross at Ibrox but their journeys are very different.

On Saturday, they will be in charge of two of the biggest clubs in the country and will be Premiership rivals for the first time at Ibrox.

Neither Mark Warburton nor Ian Cathro has taken the traditional route to the top but both find themselves in positions that they would have dreamed of when they set out in the game.

The debate over Cathro’s suitability to assume the Hearts hotseat has been intense in recent days but the coming weeks, months and years will provide the definitive answers.

His doubters question whether the 30-year-old, and assistant Austin MacPhee, can command the respect of the Tynecastle squad and whether they will be given the chance to get their ideas across to the players they have inherited.

It was a fear that Warburton had to confront as he made his way in the game at Watford and rose through the ranks in the early stages of his coaching career.

The Englishman would move onto Brentford and then to Ibrox but he understands the situation Cathro finds himself in as he prepares for his dugout debut at Ibrox.

Warburton said “Yes, it was [a concern] at Watford for me. I started coaching the 12s and 13s, then the 14s and 16s and it is only when you get to the reserves that you get the first team players coming down and you start to think: ‘if I get this one wrong, I’ll get dug out here.’

“You have to get it right and it challenges you. Then you realise that players want to enjoy what they do.

“They want relevant practice. When you realise that, you get over it very quickly and then you either sink or swim.

“Personally, if you are taking the youth team and it is going well the message filters up and down.

“They tell the younger ones that the coaching is okay and the older ones that the coaching is okay.

“Words spreads quickly in football. You’ve just got to be organised, whatever job you’re in.

“You have to show a level of subject knowledge and if you can do that, you’ll be alright.”

Cathro arrives at Tynecastle with an impressive CV and confident in his own abilities but he has few miles on the clock as a player and none as a boss in his own right.

His time at Rio Ave, Valencia and Newcastle United will undoubtedly stand him in good stead on the training pitch on a daily basis.

But Warburton reckons it will be off the park where Cathro’s will have to prove his credentials as he looks to make the transition from coach to manager.

“I read Austin’s comments about the dressing room ‘zoo’ and players are intelligent,” he said.

“They want to come into an organised environment and know what they’re doing.

“They want to enjoy what they’re doing and they want to leave feeling better for it.

“If you can do that, it doesn’t matter if you’ve played in the World Cup or you’ve played for Raghouse Rovers - it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, as long as you do that for the players.

“They are smart guys and if you get the environment right, they will respond accordingly.

“You have easier access to the coaching qualifications now. I’m not seeing it’s easier to get them but it is easier to get on the courses.

“People with different playing backgrounds are getting on the courses and they’re benefiting from them.

“It’s changing in that man management is a far bigger part of it now.

“Whether you work on a building site or whatever your background might well be, as long as you organise and get the environment right and they feel they are enjoying the work they do, I think you’re in a good place.”

Having stood in the opposite technical area as Robbie Neilson took charge of Hearts for the final time last week, Warburton will now meet Cathro as he makes his bow this weekend.

Rangers were well beaten at Tynecastle as the Jambos ran out 2-0 winners on Wednesday night but showed an immediate response to overcome Aberdeen on home soil.

Victory would take the Light Blues five points clear of Hearts in the battle to be best of the rest this term and Warburton is determined his side will improve once again.

He said: "I read people say we were outstanding against Aberdeen.

"We weren't outstanding with the football and the stats tell us that.

"We had the second lowest passing stats of the season but it's about the result.

"It's a results-driven but we also want to be purposeful and have control of the football.

"But look at the Hearts game. We weren't pulling out of challenges and being shy in the tackle.

"On the night, they were better. We hold our hands up. Everyone has a bad day at the office.

"We were poor, no excuses, but we were much better against Aberdeen and we want to be better again.

“It is important but Hearts will be saying the same thing, as will Aberdeen.

“One game at a time. It’s about Hearts right now and then it moves on to Hamilton.

“But if we can get a run together, it changes the picture. That’s the case in any league. If you get four or five wins, then the whole landscape changes.”