DICK ADVOCAAT was always an emotional character during his time in Glasgow.

The little Dutchman was never slow to voice his opinion; referees, his own players and the media all fell victim to his infamous rants.

But as he attempts to mastermind the downfall of his former club in the City of Manchester Stadium this evening, the Zenit St Petersburg manager will detach himself from any emotional ties that pull him towards Glasgow.

Still a very close friend of the Rangers chairman David Murray, Advocaat has remained in touch with the man who brought him to Ibrox in 1998. And he has a healthy respect for the man he replaced at Ibrox in the shape of Walter Smith.

The Rangers captain, Barry Ferguson, was installed as skipper by him and might not have gone on to enjoy the success he has at the club had it not been for Advocaat's faith and belief in him.

Despite eventually having to step aside to make way for Alex McLeish, and quitting the club completely shortly afterwards to continue his managerial career at various destinations before settling again in Russia, Advocaat has remained a big fan of Rangers.

It's fair to say, had his team not be facing them in the final, Advocaat would love to see Rangers winning a major European trophy.

However, he most certainly doesn't want that to happen at the expense of his Zenit team.

"This is a football match and it will be a great game for both clubs," he said when asked about his ties to the Ibrox side.

"And may the best team win. I don't become emotional because I am playing against a team where I was manager for four years. This is a football match and we all have our own jobs to do."

Advocaat had the luxury of spending big money during the period he occupied the Gers hotseat, and he has been able to splash the cash to build an exciting attacking team he hopes will prove too hot to handle for Rangers tonight.

In contrast, Smith has had to assemble a squad on a shoestring budget and was forced to cash in on his most profitable asset halfway through the current campaign when Alan Hutton was offloaded to Spurs for £9million.

So Advocaat believes Rangers deserve great credit for reaching the Uefa Cup Final against all the odds.

He said: "Yes, I definitely have great respect for what Rangers have done. There was no money, but you can still see without it what they have achieved in the last couple of years and that is a compliment to the staff and directors at the club.

"I don't think either Rangers or ourselves were expected to reach this final. Both teams have played against some very good teams from around Europe and that is a great achievement to reach the final.

"Maybe the teams deserve a little bit more respect for getting to this stage than perhaps they have been given."

Certainly, Rangers will be given every respect from Advocaat and his team and the man dubbed The Little General doesn't expect Rangers to alter from their favoured 4-5-1 formation for European fixtures.

He explained: "We won't change our system for this game and I don't expect Rangers to do so either. Why should we?

"Rangers are a team who can play very well. They are organised and they have many players behind the ball, but when they have the ball they come out with three or four players pushing forward and we will have to watch out for this.

"We have to worry about the team of Rangers. We have to keep an eye on every player of Rangers until the game is finished. We won't be concentrating on particular players or singling anyone out.

"Everybody is trying to push Zenit into the favourites' role. I have no problem with that. Actually, I like that.

"But you can't reach a Uefa Cup Final, win the League Cup Final, have a Scottish Cup Final to play and probably become champions without being a very good team."

Zenit, of course, go into tonight's clash having had extra time to prepare for the game after the Russian FA postponed three domestic fixtures to afford their club a two-week break.

A friendly at the weekend, against Dutch side Alkmaar, gave them some match practice before flying to Manchester to finalise their preparations.

By contrast, Rangers played three league games in the space of just nine days, the most recent a 3-1 win over Dundee United on Saturday afternoon.

But while Walter Smith was far from pleased with the SPL's decision to refuse to postpone their weekend encounter to assist their European push, his opposite number says the wisdom in requesting a domestic break will depend on the final scoreline.

"If we win the game then having the break would have been a good idea," was how Advocaat responded when asked about if it gives his team an advantage. "But if we lose the match, then of course it will not have been a good idea so it really all depends on the result."

With that, a extremely relaxed Advocaat ended his pre-match media conference and enjoyed a short chat with opposite number Walter Smith outside the City of Manchester Stadium before getting back down to business.

Regardless of his affection for the Ibrox club, he hopes to break their hearts by leading Zenit to Uefa Cup glory.