IT is one thing understanding the expectation. It is quite another to have the ability and mentality to deliver when the pressure is on.
It was a situation Graeme Souness thrived in as Rangers manager and one, albeit in on a smaller scale, that Mark Warburton will experience at its most intense for the first time on Sunday. No matter what he has seen or heard, his Old Firm debut will be a step into the unknown for the Englishman.
A career that had brought him countless successes, he thought, prepared Souness for a step into the dugout when he joined Rangers three decades ago and kicked off a revolution in Scottish football. He had encountered fanatical supports before, and did so again after he left Rangers, but his time at Ibrox left a lasting impression on one of the finest players of his generation.
“When I look back now, I was totally fearless,” Souness said. “My life had been one long story of success after success.
“The only real exception was, at 19, Tottenham saying ‘we’re not sure if you’re going to be good enough’. They let me go.
“Other than that, it had just been a succession of winning trophies and games. Coming here at that time was a young-man thing. I was fearless.
“Today, I wouldn’t have anything like the bravery or conviction that I had then.”
There is a significant difference between the level that Souness operated at following his move to Ibrox in 1986 and where Rangers are now under Warburton, but the demands from the stands have not altered. No matter the opponent or the competition, victory is expected and not hoped for.
“I went to England at 15 and came back at 33,” Souness said. “I thought I had been around big football clubs all of my life but nothing prepared me for the passion here.
“It comes back to how much this club - and similarly at Celtic - means to the supporters.
“It’s that passion that makes it a burden because you feel so responsible.”
After securing the Championship title and the Petrofac Training Cup in recent days, Warburton will now have his first taste of derby day in Glasgow this weekend. A year on from a lacklustre, uninspiring showing against Ronny Deila’s side in the League Cup, supporters will arrive at Hampden in anticipation of a potential Old Firm triumph.
“It’s a big step up for him. He’ll get some idea at the weekend,” Souness said. “Last year, they didn’t turn up in the game and they just got pushed aside.
“As a Rangers supporter, I hope they make a fist of it this time. It will be very difficult for them to win the game, but not impossible.
“I just want them to make sure that, when they leave here, they have given a good account of themselves and given the supporters something to shout about.”
The performance last season rankled with Rangers supporters almost as much as the 2-0 defeat as a side low on confidence were outplayed, and probably let off the hook, by Celtic. This time, it should be much closer.
Rangers have shown over the course of the campaign they have the technical ability to earn impressive results, now Souness knows they have to prove they have the mentality to handle the heat of the Old Firm encounter and rise to the Celtic challenge.
“You are being asked to perform and do stuff at a quicker level,” he said.
“Some people can do it and some people can’t. What else could go wrong? It’s a big environment, but they are used to big crowds at Ibrox so that shouldn’t be an issue.
“Yes, it will be hostile. Big deal. If you’ve got anything about you, enjoy those supporters giving you stick.
“I had some fabulous players who fed off that. They got bigger and stronger and better in that environment.
“If the lesser lights hadn’t had a Butcher or a Gough with them, maybe they might have shrunk a bit, but we had big players that dragged the lesser lights with them.
“When you are buying players, you like to think you are buying someone who is not just a good footballer.
“Rangers and Celtic are big football clubs with demanding supporters who never have an easy game.”
It is not just supporters of the two biggest clubs in our game that are counting down the days until the historic rivalry is renewed once again.
The derby is a major selling point for Scottish football, but it is one that has been lost in recent years as Rangers have climbed back through the leagues and finally secured their place back in the top flight.
No matter the outcome over 90 minutes at Hampden, there are potentially four Old Firm encounters to look forward to in the Premiership next season.
“I don’t live in Scotland and the interest in the game down south has diminished,” Souness said. “People spoke about it in England but they don’t any more.
“The way they see it is ‘just give Celtic the title in August’. That’s the way it’s worked out.
“In any competitive business it’s not healthy for one dominant force to have a monopoly.
“I worried for Rangers - because I felt they were treated harshly.
“I felt it was such a parochial attitude and the rest of Scottish football would suffer. That’s exactly what’s happened.”
The fall-out from Rangers’ drop down the league ladder will continue for some time, and Souness himself has become embroiled in it.
The use of Employee Benefit Trusts remains a hotly debated topic and Souness was a recipient of a payment, alongside the likes of Barry Ferguson and Ronald de Boer.
“I was doing work for Rangers,” he said of the £30,000 he received ten years after he left Ibrox.
“And I’m not being blasé but how much was it again? And what was the largest amount someone received?
“I was in between doing jobs and was going to scout players for Glasgow Rangers on the continent.”
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