THE finishing touches were moments of individual brilliance. The win was a team effort, though.

The man with the No.8 on his back was the hero on the day, but legendary status was now within touching distance of Walter Smith and his players.

Having got this far, Rangers were determined not to fall at the penultimate hurdle, but they were pushed all the way to

finishing line by a Celtic side that matched them stride for stride under the guidance of Tommy Burns.

Victory over Aberdeen at Ibrox clinched eight-in-a-row for Rangers and the Double was soon completed as Hearts were beaten at Hampden.

It was tough and it was tense. For Stuart McCall, it was terrific.

“The first thing I remember about that campaign is that Celtic only lost one game that year and we lost three,” McCall told SportTimes.

“Tommy Burns had a great side, they were really strong and they pushed us all the way. We had to be at our best, we had to be consistent.

“It ended with us giving the best cup final performance as well, against Hearts in the 5-1 game.

“That was because we were pushed to the limit. In other years, we had won the league earlier.

“The 92/93 season was a brilliant season, but I think that 95/96 was our strongest challenge.

“I wasn’t there for all of it but in the six that I was there, that was the toughest one.

“Celtic had a good side, a good manager and it was nip and tuck all the way so it win it like we did was great.”

It was Rangers who struck the first blow in the title race and it came just five games into the campaign as Alec Cleland and Paul Gascoigne netted at Parkhead.

The remaining three Old Firm fixtures were stalemates, with the 3-3 draw at Ibrox in November the standout as the Glasgow giants went head-to-head for the silverware once again.

Celtic would eventually halt Rangers in their tracks as they denied Smith’s side a record-beating run but the ones that were won meant the most to McCall.

He said: “Looking back, everyone says you must have been disappointed not to do 10. But we were delighted to do nine because we could have faltered at eight, we could have faltered at three.

“Of course it would have been nice to get 10, but it would have been a bigger blow not to get nine. I think eight was a huge one because Celtic had di Canio, Van Hooijdonk, Cadete and a really strong side.

“It was about consistency and a high level of performance and thankfully we managed to produce that.

“I didn’t play much in the nine-in-a-row season because of injury. The 92/93 season was brilliant, but the eight-in-a-row, I loved it.”

McCall had established himself as a key part of Smith’s side following his arrival from Everton in 1991 and was integral to the cause as the Light Blues moved to within one title of the history books.

He had the natural ability and work ethic to be a success at Ibrox, but he also, like so many of his team-mates, had the mentality.

That group of players brought out the best in each other, the cycle of success and celebration a ride that everyone at Ibrox enjoyed.

McCall said: “That was lead from the management. If we went out for a meal, a lot of the time they would come with us and that is how much we were together. It wasn’t always a p***-up.

“It was a meal or a get together and obviously there were a couple of beers involved sometimes.

“You couldn’t be seen to be out and about if you weren’t winning.

“Going out helped us get the results and the result helped us going out.

“We had great, talented individuals but it was a squad effort and that mentality that got us over the line.

“As a player, you want to be pushed to the limit and I think that is what brought the best out of us.”

Having savoured triumphs throughout his Ibrox career, missing out on the title in the 1995/96 campaign would have left a bitter taste for McCall.

The stakes were high but when the chips were down his midfield partner refused to fold. The table once again belonged to Rangers.

This was Gazza at his mercurial best. His first, as he twisted and turned and scooped the ball beyond Michael Watt, was sublime but his second was even better as he burst from midfield, breached the heart of the Dons defence and sent Ibrox wild. The cool penalty completed his hat-trick and clinched the championship.

McCall said: “Everyone will think of Gazza and think of his individual brilliance, which he had, but he was a team player as much as anyone.

“I used to say to him ‘you just stay further forward and I will do the graft and the tackling and get you the ball higher up the park’.

“But he enjoyed a tackle as much as anyone and he would track his runner back.

“He wasn’t just a flair player, although he had great technical ability. He was a team player and he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty.

“When we needed a bit of magic to win a game, we would look to him or Lauders (Brian Laudrup) to produce it and he certainly did that day.

“We needed our best players to come to the fore that day and Gazza did that. We went a goal behind and it was tense and nervy. If we had lost that game, that was it.

“It was a special performance from a special player. He went on the win the Player of the Year that night and it couldn’t have been any better for the club.

“He went in a blue tartan suit to pick his up. It was quite a boisterous night that night, I think it went on to Tuesday!”

Twelve months on, the celebrations would start all over again.