SUCH has been the hype leading up to Sunday’s championship showdown between Rangers and Hibs at Ibrox that you might have thought a UN peace envoy might have been fruitfully deployed between the two technical areas instead of a fourth official. With tensions still simmering over the Easter Road’s club refusal to play ball over the Scott Allan transfer, Mark Warburton and Alan Stubbs have found themselves embroiled in what in newspaper world is known as a “war of words”. It all escalated rather quickly when the former Celtic defender said this management lark was “easy when you have money to spend” and Warburton reacted by telling him in the bluntest terms to “keep his mouth shut.”

It seems, however, that the likes of Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon can make alternative plans this weekend. A somewhat uneasy truce was called yesterday as Warburton attempted to draw a line under the affair while insisting that he would continue to defend the interests of his club if called upon. Win, lose or draw, Stubbs would be invited into the Ibrox manager’s office for a glass of wine and a chat. One interesting subject of conversation when the pair get in there might be the fact that Craig Flannigan, the erstwhile head of sports science and fitness at Hibs, has been strongly linked with a move to the club who are assumed to be their main Championship rivals.

“The fact is my job is to defend Rangers Football Club,” said Warburton. “If someone says anything derogatory then I will always defend it, but it is done now, it is gone. When I talk about other clubs I will either be supportive of a manager or complimentary of a manager and his team – I think that is fairly commonplace in football. But if I think something is wrong, it is my job and Davie Weir’s job to defend Rangers. But other than that it is water under the bridge. We will concentrate on what will hopefully be a good game on Sunday, a high quality game, and touch wood we will get the right result. I look forward to sharing a drink post game with all the coaches and managers. I’m not being disrespectful at all but it’s just another game for us.”

Warburton may feel this is “just another game” but to the sell-out 52,000 crowd who will turn up in Govan and most of the watching world Sunday’s meeting feels much bigger than that. Having already taken their scalp at Easter Road by a 6-2 scoreline in the Petrofac Cup, a Rangers victory would extend their advantage on Hibs to six points, installing an advantage which they presently don’t look like giving up. Whether the visitors are stronger or weaker after the departure of Scott Allan, who came off the bench in that first match, will also be instructive to witness.

“I don’t mean it in a derogatory way,” said Warburton. “But you don’t get five points for winning on Sunday. It’s three points. It’s a packed house because of the efforts of the players and all credit to the fans for getting the fans excited and looking forward to the game. But it’s three points. If you go away and beat the bottom of the table team you still only get three points.”

The Englishman had the rare privilege of some time off this week, spending out fulfilling a long-standing invite to play golf at Loch Lomond in the company of assistant manager David Weir. But even on the tranquil bonnie banks, the West of Scotland obsession with the Old Firm managed to track him down. Compared to the sleepy backwater of Brentford, Warburton is fast realising that the post of Rangers manager is one from which you can never clock off. Thankfully for his sake, things are going so well at the moment for the club that all the feedback is positive.

“It is times by ten,” said Warburton. “Brentford have some really passionate, knowledgeable fans as all the clubs do but it is just the size of it here. It seems to be 24/7, there is no switching off.”

Warburton may have a bigger squad than all his Championship rivals, but it isn’t so big that his first team players don’t think they have a chance of first team action. If injuries occur, products from the youth team such as Ryan Hardie will simply have to fill the void. “If we had that situation, we are dead,” said Warburton. “We really are. There’s 19 or 20 players available right now and that’s great. But if you have a problem and the window is still open we will move. But we are nearly there. If you’re turning up for work and you’ve not chance of getting to the first team then we have created the wrong working environment. And if we have a problem with injury or suspension we have to be able to dip into the academy. Otherwise, what’s the point of having an academy?”

But first things first. And that starts against Hibs on Sunday. Goalkeeper Wes Foderingham said the memory of the 6-2 win at Easter Road will count for little. “It's a massive game but I don’t think it will be season defining because it's a long, old season. The 6-2 game means nothing if I'm honest, it was a completely different game. But we know we played well with attacking intensity that day and so we need to show the same intensity on Sunday."