Nine-in-a-row wasn’tsomuch celebration as relief...but we all knew what itmeanttoGers

hours but were greeted by the jubilant Light Blue legions. Two decades on, those players are still heroes.

“At the end of the game, I think it was relief more than anything else,” Gough said.

“I can remember speaking to a few of the younger ones and a few of the newer players to make sure they understood what it all meant.

“For the likes of myself who had been there from the off, it wasn’t really a celebration, it was a huge relief.

“I knew what it meant to all the supporters and the club. It was great to see the fans and the players so happy.”

FOR the likes of Gough, Ian Ferguson and Ally McCoist, the night that nine was clinched was the culmination of years of effort. For everyone in the squad, it was a career highlight.

The finale to the campaign was remarkable as keeper Andy Dibble was thrown in at Parkhead and Mark Hateley returned before that shock defeat to Motherwell.

Hateley and Malky Mackay saw red on derby day, Paulo di Canio lost his cool and Rangers celebrated with a huddle. For many, that 1-0 win was the day the league was all but won.

“Guys like Jorg Albertz and Jocky Bjorklund, there were guys that came in and helped us see it through to the end of a pressure packed season,” Gough said.

“If you look right through the nine-in-a-row, there are a lot of players that contributed to it. Some were there longer and won more than others but I take my hat off to everyone that played in the teams during that period. It was a marvellous time to be at Rangers.

“Andy Dibble came in to play at Parkhead and he was very good, very confident. Mark came back as well. They were parts that made up the fabric of the story.”

It was Aberdeen who had