IT was like your dad pretending to be Pele while taking the mick out of you in the back garden.

Or the famous football scene in Kes when Brian Glover dribbled around the schoolkids like “the balding Bobby Charlton” while pushing small pupils away as if they weren’t there.

Except it was an Old Firm game. Almost 30 years ago to be exact. It was when Graeme Souness, the Rangers player-manager, took part for the first time in this fixture on a day when he owned Celtic, almost on his own.

“I can’t remember,” says the now 63-year-old when it was put to him that he was sensational that particular afternoon. Maybe it’s arrogance, of which he has never been short of, or maybe when you’ve won three European Cups then all the great performances roll into one.

Anyhow, it’s on Youtube. Souness was brilliant. There is one moment when he finds himself in the centre-circle and seems to put Alan McInally in a trance while standing on the ball. He might claim to not remember how he played but all these years later he does recall what it meant to the supporters.

“In the build up to these games, what makes them special is that people always ask you what the biggest derby is? The biggest derby is this one,” he said without hesitation. “It’s the fans what makes it the biggest derby. Is it because more people come to watch it.

“It boils down to the passion both sets of supporters have for their football club and what it means if you win or lose it. That’s what makes it the biggest and most special derby I’ve ever been involved in.

“The build up to it and the day of the game, and the game itself, weren’t always classics but it was always competitive. Then it’s about what it means to the supporters if you win or lose.

“I’ve played at Anfield and you can look at The Kop and there are blue pockets all over. It’s another level in Glasgow. I think you find Liverpool fans are extremely passionate, as are Evertonians, but I think it goes to another level in Glasgow. Maybe that’s because we have less to concern ourselves with.”

That New Year game, a 2-0 win to Rangers, was the third Old Firm match of his first season in Scotland. The first derby, also at Ibrox, was televised live, rare in those days, and an Ian Durrant second-half goal was all that separated the sides.

“I can remember the very first one I managed at Ibrox,” said Souness. “It was pouring with rain and we won 1-0. I’d obviously played in some big games where the tempo was fraught and that was up there with any of them. People don’t give you a second on the ball, it’s a hard game to play in. That’s how Old Firm games were in my time there.

“It’s two teams that had an unhealthy regard for one another, shall we say, and the players take that on board. My players certainly did.

“They are very, very special games. If you are a football supporter it has to be on your bucket list for the emotions displayed from both sets of fans. It’s a unique game of football.”

That it is. And while the atmosphere is special, it can also be toxic. We live in a society which has become increasingly secular, less people would attach themselves to any religion and yet that is not the impression a stranger would get from this sporting event.

“I think it’s there on a match day but the rest of the time not so much,” said Souness. “Of course it exists everywhere to a degree but I think the real bitterness and nastiness that is so unattractive only exists on a match day. That's in my experience.”

Souness both won and lost these games. He was sent off at Parkhead for a truly outrageous tackle on Billy Stark. But his most infamous derby moment came in Turkey when, as manager of Galatasaray, he planted the club flag in the centre circle after they had beaten arch rivals Fenerbahce in a final.

“They didn’t like each other much either. I don’t think I improved relations very much,” he said with some under-statement. "You can go there four hours before kick-off and the stadiums would be nearly full and they are singing their hearts out. Home and away. It’s similar in many respects.”

There are no prizes for guessing who Souness wants to win. Whether he will be a happy supporter is something he’s not so sure about. He won’t be alone there.

“You are never surprised at anything in football but on paper Celtic are far superior,” said Souness. “They are used to playing at Parkhead in front of 60,000 people screaming at them when things aren’t going well. It’s not like there will be an added pressure because they are playing at Ibrox.

“I don’t think if they were to play a less than adventurous style but still won that the Rangers support would be against that. They’d just take a win. They don’t have to go gung-ho and chase the game from the first whistle.

"I think the Rangers supporters realise the situation they find themselves in and that they need to support the manager and support the club.

“They’ve done that in the last four or five years. Nobody can be critical of that and now they are in the big league they have to have a reality check about where they are right now, and believe that sooner or later they will be back winning that league.”

Souness won’t be at Ibrox, his work with Sky will keep him in England, but when asked whether he would keep half an eye on the match, he said: “F****** right! With my scarf on.”

Sky Sports will show the biggest head to heads over the festive season, including the Old Firm derby on New Year’s Eve.