WITH Celtic taking on Rangers for the first time this season at Ibrox tomorrow afternoon in the Ladbrokes Premiership, actor and Rangers fan Stephen Purdon, aka Shellsuit Bob in River City, looks back on his first Old Firm game.

"THE first Old Firm game I can remember going to was a good one. It was the New Year’s game at Ibrox in January 1997. Jorg Albertz scored an absolute rocket of a free-kick early in the first-half for Rangers, Paolo Di Canio equalised for Celtic and then Erik Bo Anderson came off the bench and netted twice late on to sew up a 3-1 win for the home team.

"I can still remember walking up into the main stand with my dad, looking out over the pitch, which was lit up by the floodlights because it was a night game, and getting that feeling of anticipation in my stomach. The whole experience sticks in my mind.

"I can recall my mum complaining before we went too. She was worried about me going to the Old Firm game. But my dad said: ‘Och, he’ll be fine’ I grew up in the East End, in Carntyne. We drove to the stadium, had something to eat and went in to the ground. What a night we had!

"Albertz was a hero of mine in those days. When that free-kick went in the back of the net the roof nearly came off the stadium.

Celtic fans remember that game for different reasons – Jorge Cadete had a goal chalked off for offside in the second-half. Their supporters still talk about that to this day. They played well that evening. They had a lot of good players, Cadete, Di Canio, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Andy Thom. Tommy Burns had them playing good football too. They really pushed us.

"But when Walter Smith was the Rangers manager you always thought: ‘We will find a way to win no matter what’. We beat them at Parkhead a lot in that era. My wee brother is just 17 and he has grown up without experiencing that, without Rangers winning things. But we still go and support the team in our thousands all the same.

"Rangers fans were really spoiled back then, just like Celtic supporters are now. It has flipped. They are going for Nine-In-A-Row this season, we were doing the same back then. Success comes in cycles doesn’t it? But we have a strong squad this season. Hopefully we can get the result we want tomorrow and enjoy a successful season. We will see.

"I was at the Legia Warsaw game at Ibrox on Thursday night. The atmosphere in the last 10 minutes was unbelievable. Credit to the visitors. They were a good side, very well organised. It is the best away support I have seen at Ibrox in a long, long time too. It was just one of those games when one goal was going to settle it and fortunately Alfredo Morelos scored it.

"I think it is great for Scottish football to have two teams in Europe. If they stay neck and neck in the league and both have games on Thursday and Sunday then they will push each other on.

"It is a really big week for Rangers, two big games in four days. This is the first time since 2010 that both Celtic and Rangers have gone into the opening Old Firm game of the season with maximum points from their opening league games. That tells a story about where the teams are at. It is an exciting time.

"Another Old Firm game that sticks out in my mind is the one at Ibrox in 2010 when Maurice Edu scored in injury-time to. Kris Boyd should have netted when a Madjid Bougherra shot rebounded out to him. But it fell to Edu and he bundled the ball over the line from a few yards out. Rangers won 1-0 to more or less win the league.

"I go to the games with four of my mates now. We have had season books together in the main stand since about 2000 or 2001. Hopefully we are all celebrating another result like that one in 1997 or the game in 2010 tomorrow."