AN air of animosity will envelope Pittodrie this afternoon. Perhaps only the two dug-outs will be exempt. For all the historic bitterness between Aberdeen and Rangers supporters and the intensity that both teams will provide, there is nothing but warmth and respect between the two managers. For the time being at least.

This is a traditionally combustible fixture but as Mark Warburton heads to Pittodrie for the first time there will at least be one friendly face there to greet him. The Rangers manager and Derek McInnes met socially over the summer for a catch-up and pot of tea and Warburton speaks highly of the job his opposite number continues to do at Aberdeen.

“I met Derek and had lunch with him a short while ago,” he said. “It was just for a chat really – we were both in Glasgow so decided to meet for a cup of tea. I’ve actually met him a few times and I’ve a lot of respect for what he’s done. He’s got a high-quality squad and added to it again this season so we know the test we face. The job he’s doing at Aberdeen is first-class.

“We talked a bit about football. He’s a top manager and a top quality coach. It was good to get his perspective on Scottish football. It’s always good to hear that. I know Robbie Neilson too and speak to him, so it’s always useful to talk to different managers and hear what they’re thinking.

“Aberdeen have a good squad, unity, and enjoy European football like everyone else. So there are a lot of positives and qualities within their squad. We are well aware of the venue and the warmth of reception we will likely get. I’ve been told by everyone all about it. But we’re looking forward to what we know will be a tough game.”

Meanwhile, Warburton has questioned the need for a three-week winter break in January, with Rangers out of action from the Old Firm game on Hogmanay until their fourth round William Hill Scottish Cup tie on January 21. The Rangers manager revealed his preference would be for clubs to copy what happens in certain European leagues by closing down over the festive period.

“What do you do for three weeks? We were asking that same question before the Scottish Cup Final against Hibs. I see the Bundesliga and La Liga having breaks over Christmas - I think the latter runs from December 18 - January 8, something like that.

“Christmas is a time when players and staff can spend time with their families, and that makes perfect sense to me. I don’t get the first few weeks in January. I understand the British appetite for festive soccer, I get that, but that appetite is always there anyway. Three weeks is very difficult but we’ll allow them five days off and we’ll try and find somewhere decent to travel to without too much expense hopefully.

“We’ll also need to try to find a game to play. I personally don’t get the break. It caused us a big problem before the cup final and I don’t know what we’re going to do with it. We could be playing Aberdeen, or someone like that, in the Scottish Cup on January 21. I haven’t seen the stats but I’m sure a lot of top-flight teams go out in that round when you have a winter break because they won’t be prepared for the games, whereas the Championship teams will have been playing.

“You could face a high-flying Championship team who have played four or five games during that period and we’d be fresh from a winter break, hunting around trying to find a fixture. I personally don’t see the logic in that one.

“If you’re going to have a break, you could learn from other leagues. The English Premier League don’t have a break, while in Spain and Germany, they have it over the festive period to allow quality time with the family. I can understand that completely and I don’t get why we do ours in January, especially when we have so very little time off in the summer.”