JAMES Tavernier trudged off the Ibrox pitch two years ago feeling down and fearing the worst.

The stands had boasted Rangers were "Going for 55" but 90 minutes later Hamilton Academical had taken a deserved point from the game.

Joey Barton was in Glasgow to show everyone who was boss. A stand-out moment from that opening league fixture in 2016, Rangers first since in the top tier for four years, was Ali Crawford nutmegging the Englishman.

Tavernier was right to suspect that all might not be right even after day one of the Premiership campaign. It was a sign of things to come.

About a thousand things have changed at Rangers since then but the captain, as Tavernier is now, still believes so much rests on either a good or bad start to the league season. Good job, then, that today he leads his team out at Pittodrie, one of the easier, less chaotic fixtures on the calendar.

Tavernier said: “It’s the first game of the season against one of our biggest rivals so we will look forward to getting up there and hopefully put in a good performance.

“Our record up there has been good. But this is a new team and it will be different surroundings for some of the lads, so it’s a tough first game. What we want to do is carry on the momentum we’ve built up over the friendlies and European games.

“You always want to set the tone right from the first game. I still remember that draw against Hamilton at the start of the season two years ago, that has always stayed in the back of my mind, and it’s not a result or performance our fans want to see.

“It wasn’t what we wanted to see either. So, we want to start with a good away win. I’m now the captain and know we cannot afford to drop any points at Aberdeen. We need to get off to a great start, get three points, and then we can push onto the season.

“I do get stopped by fans in the street in the run-up to the Aberdeen games. I know all about the feelings, the rivalry and I would put it below the Celtic games. We know the fans will take nothing less than a win and that’s what we have to deliver to them and obviously the gaffer.”

In case it had escaped your attention, the supporters of Rangers and Aberdeen do not like one another very much.

The ill-feeling can really be felt when the games are at Pittodrie, something Tavernier can vouch for. As a right-back, he spends both halves near the touchline getting some, ahem, advice from the locals.

Tavernier said: “It is close [the gap between fans and players]. “I enjoy it. You do get stick up there but I actually enjoy it. The best feeling is to walk off the park having taken three points and a win, then going up to your own fans and celebrating.

“I think it’s Pittodrie and Tynecastle which are the two grounds we are closest to in terms of being with the fans. Can I hear everything? When I’m taking a throw-in, yes, but not when I’m playing. I block out everything because you are so focused on the job.

“It’s just opposition fans. You don’t really want to entertain it but I do sort of enjoy it. I can thrive off some of the stuff which is shouted at me during a game, and it makes you push yourself even harder because when you win up there our fans are signing while their fans are silent. There is no better feeling.

“Anyway, if you react then you get punished.”

A lot more will be known about Aberdeen and Rangers after today’s game. Both have enjoyed decent results and performances in pre-season and Europe, and the Ibrox skipper believes the fans are finally going to have a team to be proud of.

Tavernier said: “Time will tell but from what I have seen so far, I’m really excited for the season because we have real strength and depth, plus the manager and everything that has come with him. There are exciting times ahead.”