Advocaat's side have had their Russian Premier League games postponed ahead of their trip to the City of Manchester Stadium, while Rangers failed to persuade the Scottish Premier League to cancel their match against Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday.

Advocaat, boss of Gers between 1998 and 2001, told Scotland Today: "Our preparations are better than Rangers'.

"It is a farce that the SPL didn't give Rangers the weekend off.

"They are playing in a UEFA Cup final and they don't give them permission to cancel the game against Dundee United.

"How can you think to refuse it? There are too many egos at the SPL.

"They are not there for the interest of Scottish football because if they were, they would say to Rangers 'don't play'."

Looking towards the final, Advocaat believes his team will be forced to grind out a win over Walter Smith's well-organised unit.

He said: "The team that is in the best shape will win.

"We have a different team than Rangers, we have more individuals while Rangers are a team who are well-organised and well-balanced.

"Rangers played better football and had better individuals when I was there.

"But now it is more about a team performance which is good, because I always say that the team performance is the most important thing."