THE shaven head, the thousand yard stare, the sneer. Squaring up to Scott Brown on his Old Firm debut was an intimidating prospect for Andy Halliday. With his vastly-experienced opponent attempting to psyche him out before kick-off especially.

Photographs and videos of Brown, the Celtic captain, glowering menacingly at Halliday, the Rangers midfielder, as the sides shook hands before kick-off have gone viral on social media websites since the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden on Sunday.

Yet, Halliday was coolness personified despite the provocation. He conjured up another of the mesmerising displays which have so endeared him to supporters of the Ibrox club this season, capped when he converted his penalty kick in the shoot-out after extra-time, and came out on top in his duel with Brown.

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He revealed yesterday had been undeterred by his rival’s mind games. Asked if he thought the Scotland internationalist was attempting to unsettle him pre-match, he reflected: “He probably was. But you see that in every sport really. Cricket is supposed to be a gentleman’s game, but you see sledging, what they say to each other.

“It is going to happen on the big stage. I don’t know, maybe he was trying to get in my head, but it wasn’t going to happen. We were all set to enjoy the game.

“Scott Brown is the captain of the national team, he has had a wonderful career and he is obviously a big player for Celtic. But I am just happy we did what we did and concentrated on ourselves. That was the reason we got the result.

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“Of course it would be easy to get sucked into it, but I was already in that mental state that I was ready for the game. The hardest part of the Old Firm is the anticipation. You just want the game to start because you are constantly thinking about the game.

“You want to conserve your energy because it is easy to build up nervous energy and by the time you are out there you are mentally drained before you are physically drained. I was happy to keep my emotions in check and anything that happened beforehand didn’t faze me. I just got on with it.

“It doesn’t just happen in the Old Firm game, it is every week. It is nothing new, it is all part and parcel of football and all fun. We are happy to give it out and take it in. It is all good natured, there is certainly no malicious intent.”

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In the build-up to his first match against Celtic, Halliday had made a point of speaking to former Rangers players, including club great and current youth team coach Ian Durrant, with previous experience of the fixture. That proved invaluable.

“I sought advice from a lot of people who have played in the game before and they all said not to let it pass me by,” said Halliday. “It was obviously going to be a massive game and a massive experience. And sometimes you can’t really enjoy the game.

“But I managed to keep my emotions in check and thought I was pretty calm throughout. I think that was important in how we went on to dominate the game.

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“Ian Durrant was one of the first people I asked. He told me it was easy to let an Old Firm occasion get to you and for you to end up not doing yourself justice. But that is something we always make sure we do. We have had a stamp on our play from day one. It’s what we are good at and where our strengths are.

“We certainly didn’t want to turn the game into a battle, but at the same time we had to stand up and be counted to a man.

“I am proud of the boys in the way we stayed very composed throughout. Even if you watched Old Firm games in the past, there are arguably better squads than we have got just now and arguably better players.

"But I don’t think there have been many performances as composed as that in Old Firm games or as easy on the eye. For long spells, I thought we completely dominated the game.”

In the afterglow of a victory which will live long in the memory of every Rangers fan, Mark Warburton’s side have been tipped to beat Celtic to the Premiership next season. Halliday, though, feels nothing can be read into the result. He believes both sides, as well as the other top flight teams, will strengthen in the summer.

“I don’t think it makes a massive statement,” he said. “I firmly believe we are going to get better and I believe that Celtic will strengthen as well, and Hearts and Hibs. They realise the competition is going to be a lot stronger when Rangers are in the league.

“I don’t think it lays a marker for next year. Don’t get me wrong, we like to think we are good enough to go and challenge for the title. But I am sure Hibs, Aberdeen, Celtic are under the same bracket.”