Stuart McCall: Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha will thrive in his first Old Firm experience at Hampden

The Portuguese has won three of his first five games in charge but he now faces his biggest test since he was confirmed as Mark Warburton’s successor at Ibrox.

Celtic will be huge favourites to emerge victorious at Hampden on Sunday in the first battle of an eagerly-anticipated derby double-header.

But former Light Blues boss McCall has urged Caixinha to make the most of every minute of Old Firm action and lead by example at the National Stadium.

He told SportTimes: “I don’t know him, but having seen him and looked at things he has done, I think he will relish it.

“If you are a passionate person, you can’t get enough of these games. It seems that way looking in from afar and if you have that hot-blooded nature about you, these are games you really want to be involved in. He seems to get that.

“I saw his celebrations at Aberdeen and you could see what it meant to him. I am sure he will be aware of how important every game is against Celtic, regardless of where you are in the league or what competition it is.

“You have got to do everything you can to get one over on them. For anyone involved in these games, it is about relishing it not fearing it, looking forward to it not dreading it.

“Rangers are going in as underdogs but they were underdogs last year and got a fantastic result.

“I thought the last game at Parkhead was encouraging, as was the first half at Ibrox.

“The Rangers players are going to have to be at their best but it is not inconceivable that they could win at least one of them. If you had a choice to pick, you would pick the cup game, there is no doubt about that.”