TERRY Butcher knows only too well how Andrew Shinnie will feel when he returns to Ibrox tomorrow.

The Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager – once the Rangers captain – has long since come to terms with playing the role of pantomime villain whenever he journeys back to the club where he was once idolised.

Shinnie never enjoyed quite the same rarefied adoration while at Rangers, but the midfielder was certainly lauded as a golden boy of his generation as he rose through the club's youth system at Murray Park as a prodigious teenager. Two serious injuries stymied his development and eventually led to the 22-year-old's move to Inverness last summer. Tomorrow he will make his first trip back.

Rangers supporters may feel that Shinnie failed to deliver on his early promise. Butcher doesn't. However, the Inverness manager does believe the midfielder is capable of stealing the show at Ibrox, even if it is not for the club he once would have wished.

"Andrew has done very well indeed for us with the exception, perhaps, of a disappointing game last week," said Butcher. "But he has set high standards and will certainly be looking forward to going back down there to play against Rangers. He is like myself, really – you love the place with a passion and enjoy going there – and it's nice when you do look back. But this time, Andy is the enemy just as, these days, I'm the enemy.

"I don't think Andy has anything to prove at Rangers at all. And it is not a case of 'oh, look at me now and what I am achieving at Inverness'. He was very unlucky at Rangers latterly with injuries and I certainly don't think he holds any grudges or anything like that. He's a lovely guy, and just wants to let his football do the talking.

"It would be great if he could go there and score the winner – for us that would be magnificent. But there will be no malice or sense he's got a score to settle. That's not the case for him and it certainly never is for me. Andy is an Inverness Caley Thistle player now, contracted for two years, and he wants to continue with the strides he is taking in his career."

Given the impressive performances he has offered in the Highlands this season, Shinnie may seem like an entirely different player to the one that left Ibrox. He is still a talented midfielder but his displays are now infused with a greater confidence. "What's the difference with Andy? Confidence is high. Belief is high. Fitness levels are high. His touch and understanding of the position he plays in the team is a lot better," said Butcher.

"He is also our joint top goalscorer with six goals, which is great. But there is still a lot more to come from him. He is one who, in the environment he is enjoying now, is thriving and improving all the time. Sometimes you need to move away from a big club like Rangers to do that.

"He is certainly playing with a lot of freedom and enjoying playing with a lot of good players who understand him and he knows what they are about, too. It has taken time for him to get to this position but he has grasped it really well. He excited Maurice Malpas and I from the start and he has excited us all season."

Should Shinnie prove just as exciting at Ibrox the question will then be, just how good can he become? "I rate him very highly. I honestly don't know how good he can be," said Butcher. "His awareness, vision and touch are very, very good. From a strength point of view, he just needs to keep developing and achieve that confidence in his own body. He is making up for lost time in his career – and making it up very quickly."