By Mark Dingwall
I can still see it now in my mind eye. It was a gloriously warm day that herald the start of the Rangers international tournament.
Before the match Mancini came out for a gentle jog before the warm up – half a step behind him were Clarence Seedorf and Christian Karembu – both of who would go on to have glittering careers.
They jogged down to towards the Copland Road stand were a smattering of early bird fans were sitting – the stand rose to clap and the three of them returned the applause. As they passed by each stand in turn the punters rose to clap – Govan, Broomloan and Main. And then a second time, again with warm applause.
Then came the third – the fans in the Copland rose – but this time with a little shake of the head and outsplayed hands Mancini declared that this was “too much” – most of us just laughed and kept on clapping.