IT is the game that has been on the lips of fans at home and abroad. Now Andy Halliday can’t wait for the chance to do his talking on the pitch.

Ever since the balls were pulled out of the Hampden hat a few weeks ago, the Old Firm clash has been making headlines and captivating the attentions across our game, and beyond.

At 12.15pm on Sunday, the build-up will stop and the action will get underway. Come the end of what could be an enthralling encounter, Rangers hope they will have clinched a Scottish Cup final spot.

Mark Warburton’s side have had plenty of reasons to keep their minds focused on the job in hand in recent weeks but there is only one game that matters now.

With the Championship won and the Petrofac Training Cup silverware in the Ibrox Trophy Room, the Old Firm showdown is upon them. For Halliday, the dream could become a reality.

He said: “The size of this fixture, probably every boy at Rangers – and every boy at Celtic – has dreamed of scoring the winner.

“You’re not going to not think about that. Our mantra has been to take it game by game this season, and we have done that.

“But it’s hard when you can’t walk ten yards down the street without someone asking you about the Old Firm game – and it’s still five weeks away.

“But that’s the nature of the beast. I’ve tried to shut up about it. I’ve told my friends and family I’m not talking about the Old Firm until afterwards.

“That’s because the likes of Ian Ferguson saying it’s so easy to get caught up in the emotion that by the time you get on the park you are drained mentally.

“I’ve been at the other end of the scale when you are watching the draw and the Old Firm come together and you look forward to it.

“But as a player, I don’t want to talk about it because I want to concentrate on the games coming up.

“We were in a cup final on Sunday and it was my first ever cup final. It was a massive occasion for me and the only questions I was getting were about the Celtic game.”

After spending the last few weeks trying to draw Halliday into conversation about the Celtic clash, the midfielder’s friends and family will now head to Hampden to cheer him on from the stands.

The National Stadium will be packed for the return of Scotland’s most famous fixture and it will whet the appetite for a potential four Premiership meetings next term.

And Halliday reckons our game has been a poorer place without its showpiece event on the menu throughout the last few years.

He said: “Has Scottish football missed these games? 100 per cent. I think British football has missed it, everywhere has missed it.

“It’s a fixture that is anticipated worldwide. Without being disrespectful to others, this is the game that puts Scottish football on the map.

“I can speak first hand that when I was in England. It was the first fixture anyone asked you about. I had never played in it.

“I had only been at one as a fan, but people were still asking me lots of questions about it.

“I’m sure it’s the same for the Scottish lads in other dressing rooms down in England – Andrew Robertson, Robert Snodgrass will be getting asked all about the Old Firm fixture. I’m looking forward to playing in my first on Sunday.”

It has been a campaign to remember for Warburton and his players so far this term but a good season will become a great one if they can go all the way in the Scottish Cup.

Success at Hampden was always going to be an added bonus for the Gers as long as a place in the Premiership was delivered.

And Halliday is confident Rangers can prove just how far they have come under Warburton a year on from being outplayed by the Hoops in the last four of the League Cup.

He said: “I’ve had so many memorable moments already this season but I think having achieved our two main goals, winning the league and the Petrofac Cup, it’s a good time to play Celtic. There’s no bigger game than that.

“It’s not about individuals. I’m sure the full team is dreaming of scoring the winner but the main aim is to get a positive result.

“It’s hard to comment [on the gap between the sides]. I watched from the sidelines last season and Celtic were the better side.

“But it’s not really changed. Celtic are the benchmark. They are top of the Premiership, as they were last year. This will be a good test for us.

“We think we’ve come a long way from last year. Sunday is a test of how far we have come.

“There’s a Scottish Cup final place at stake and we want that third medal of the season.”