We needed our best players to step up against Dons and Gazza did that...he was a special player

at n ad e n nt hink 6 st asn’t x ere, e . tic er d as truck low ace ust ign leland oigne d ad. - Old Firm fixtures were stalemates, with the 3-3 draw at Ibrox in November the standout as the Glasgow giants went head-to-head for the silverware once again. Celtic would eventually halt Rangers in their tracks as they denied Smith’s side a record-beating run but the ones that were wonwo meant the most to McCall.

He said:sa “Looking back, everyone says you must have been disappointeddisa not to do 10. But we w were delighted to do nine bec because we could have faltered ata eight, we could have faltered ata three.

“Of courseco it would have been nice to get 10, but it would have beenbee a bigger blow not to get nine.nine I think eight was a huge one because Celtic had di Canio, V Van Hooijdonk, Cadete and side.id

“It was about consistency and a high level of performance and thankfully we managed to produce that.

“I didn’t play much in the nine-in-a-row season because of injury. The 92/93 season was brilliant, but the eight-in-a-row, I loved it.”

McCall had established himself as a key part of Smith’s side following his arrival from Everton in 1991 and was integral to the cause as the Light a really strong Blues moved to within one title of f theh hi history b books.k

He had the natural ability and work ethic to be a success at Ibrox, but he also, like so many of his team-mates, had the mentality.

That group of players brought out the best in each other, the cycle of success and celebration a ride that everyone at Ibrox enjoyed.

McCall said: “That was lead from the management.

“If we went out for a meal, a lot of the time they would come