Little General reflects on most beautiful period of his life as he takes on kindred spirit Gerrard

everyone is really fighting for their position.

“Do I see any of myself in him?” asked the Dutchman. “No, he was a much better player than me! On the touchline, maybe I was even more passionate than him. Maybe. But I saw him against Feyenoord and against the referees, it is a little bit the same as I do. So in that way, definitely.”

Even at 72, you can hardly miss Advocaat’s pugnacious streak.

“I’m a little bit more tired in the evening,” he said. “But the rest is still the same.”

Advocaat, who was in charge during the period when employee benefit trusts were used in the acquirement of players which ultimately led to their major off-field issues in 2012, has always felt Rangers would return to their full strength and is delighted to see them making such strides.

Having said that, he has thwarted them once already in Europe as manager of Zenit St Petersburg for the 2008 UEFA Cup final and has designs on doing so again in a match where Rangers could qualify for the last 32 if they can better Porto’s result.

“For me, it was unbelievable a big, big European club like Rangers would fall so far and be in the third division,” said Advocaat. “The good thing is they came back again in a very short period. A lot has happened at the club. Maybe the club needed it, or maybe it happened a little bit too quick. I wasn’t totally involved in what happened because I wasn’t there.

“But in my opinion, a big club like Rangers or Celtic will always come back. Rich people, people who want to be involved in football, will get involved. The stadium was always full.”

Whether it is mind games or not, asked to recall that fateful evening in Manchester in 2008, Advocaat volunteers the fact he was far more confident back then than he is now.

Set to be without Rick Karsdorp and Edgar Ie, Feyenoord are languishing in the bottom half of the Eredivisie and lost 3-2 to lowly Groningen at the weekend. Advocaat is at pains to suggest that his side go into this match as underdogs. They brought in a new technical director on Tuesday in the form of Frank Arnesen and whatever happens he will leave the club this summer to make way for new blood.

“I was really quiet in that game [in 2008] because some friends were sitting there, like David Murray, John Greig and others who I worked with in a great time,” said Advocaat. “I miss a lot of people from back then but I was the coach of a different club and they also wanted to win. On that evening, I had a better feeling about winning than now.

“Sometimes a manger has the tendency to talk up their opponents but Rangers are a good team,” he added. “Even a very good Feyenoord team from a couple of years ago would face a massive battle to beat them. But every team can cause an upset. And in this stadium, anything can happen.”

Emotions were riding high too with thoughts of Fernando Ricksen, a veteran of both clubs, who passed away after a battle with motor neurone disease prior to the 1-0 Ibrox win in September.

“To speak about that is still difficult,” said Advocaat. “He was a guy who fought so hard to stay alive for his family. I brought him two times, first to Rangers and he is legend at Rangers, then Zenit and he became a legend there too.

“I feel sorry for his family because the girl is missing his father.”