THE arrival of Walter Smith could have been the beginning of the end for Sasa Papac at Rangers but the Bosnian would become a key player for the returning Ibrox boss.

In his six years in Light Blue, Papac became a dependable defender and a favourite with supporters as he picked up eight major honours and appeared in the UEFA Cup final.

From the darks days of the Paul Le Guen era, Rangers, and Papac, recovered to win a hat-trick of top flight titles and record a memorable Old Firm triumph at Hampden.

There are three days that stand out for Papac and he tells SportTimes about some of his finest hours in a Gers jersey.

Fiorentina 0-0 Rangers (Rangers win 4-2 on penalties)

May 1, 2008

Stadio Artemio Franchi

There were a lot of special games but this was definitely one of the most important.

We drew the first match 0-0 at Ibrox and we knew what we had to do and what was at stake going to Italy. We were all very nervous before the game. You had a long wait in the line for the toilet in the changing room!

It was not about a fear of the game, it was just about the expectation and you wanted the game to start.

It was a very good performance from the team. We fought for 120 minutes but there were no goals and we went into the penalty shoot-out. Nacho scored the winning penalty and the emotions for me were just uncontrollable. It was a fantastic feeling to celebrate with the team and the fans.

You laughed for five seconds then you cried for five seconds. It was something I only experienced once in my career and the feeling was simply inexplicable.

The final in Manchester was disappointing, of course, but that was a special night for us against Fiorentina.

Celtic 1-2 Rangers (aet)

March 20, 2011

Hampden

Scorers: Davis, Jelavic

Celtic had won the last few matches against us and we weren’t that confident going into this game. The fans could maybe feel that as well but we got the result in the end.

Steven Davis scored early for us to give us an advantage and we got our confidence back. Joe Ledley scored for Celtic but with every minute that went on, we got stronger going into extra-time.

Jelavic scored early in the extra-time and we won the game and lifted another trophy. That was a very memorable day for us.

It was an important victory because it showed that we could win the SPL that season. It played a big part in taking us to three-in-a-row just a couple of months later.

Kilmarnock 1-5 Rangers

May 15, 2011

Rugby Park

Scorers: Lafferty (3), Naismith, Jelavic

If you are looking for perfection in football, you could see it in the opening minutes against Kilmarnock that day. Lafferty scored twice and Naismith scored to put us 3-0 up after just seven minutes and we had won the title.

Kyle got his hat-trick and Nikica also scored and we won 5-1. It was a great way to win the league for a third year.

The focus and desire in all the players and the staff was clear that day and we know what we had to do. The helicopter flew in to Rugby Park and then we could start celebrating with the fans again.

It was Walter’s last season and he deserved to leave the field like a winner. We were all grateful that we had Walter for a gaffer.