THERE will be a Rangers end and a Celtic end in the O'Halloran household on Sunday, April 17. Seventy-nine minutes on the McDiarmid Park pitch during a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in early January mean that Michael, the Ibrox forward, is cup tied and ineligible for next month's Old Firm semi final in the William Hill Scottish Cup. While he grudgingly settles for being "a fan for the day" at Hampden, so too will his father, also Michael, a Parkhead youth coach. Let's just say things could get a little bit awkward.

"I am gutted to miss out but I kind of expected it to happen," said Michael Jnr. "I can't do anything about being cup tied. It can be frustrating to watch but I've been watching the last few games, particularly the Dundee game, and the lads were terrific.

"It’s hard but I’ll be there to support the lads - I’ll be a fan for the day," he added. "I won’t be sitting with my dad! I think he will be going too and it will be interesting in the house that day. He always wants me to do well but I’ve come up against him before and he wants Celtic to win as well."

Such mixed emotions will have to be confronted soon enough. While O'Halloran acknowledges the Championship title isn't won just yet, he is already eagerly anticipating four Old Firm games next season and feels the Ibrox side will be capable of competing for the Premiership title straight away.

“Rangers are more than equipped to perform well in the Premiership," he said. "There are some top players here in the dressing room, including some who have played in the top flight before and know what it’s about.

“We are more than capable of competing at that level next season," he added. "Competing for the title has to be the aim for a club like Rangers. We aim to win every game in every competition we’re in. Hopefully I can get a crack at a few Old Firm games next season. It could be at least four games and I’ll look forward to that, but first and foremost we have to get there first."

O'Halloran already has some previous in the white hot atmosphere of the Glasgow derby. Attached to Celtic as a young player, though never directly coached by his dad, one teenage rival he faced in youth Old Firm matches was his new clubmate Danny Wilson.

"I was really young then but I enjoyed myself in the youth ranks at Celtic and they helped me develop as a young player," said O'Halloran. "I look back and it was good for me. I did play against Rangers as a Celtic youth player. A couple of the boys, like Danny, are in the dressing room here now. Every game means a lot to you as a young kid. You just want to go out there and play and the Old Firm is such a big game for the fans. It [crossing the divide] wasn’t a concern at all. It didn’t bother me and it’s been great so far."

O'Halloran left Celtic as a 16-year-old for a Bolton Wanderers side who Sam Allardyce had just led to fifth in the English top flight. It is with sadness that he acknowledges that they now teeter on the brink of relegation to the third tier, happy just to have saved themselves from the financial abyss.

“I had a lot of good times down there and I've still got great memories," said O'Halloran. "The year I went down they had finished fifth in the English Premiership the season before so it’s a shame what’s happened to them. Jay Jay Okocha had just left but Nicolas Anelka was there, as was [El-Hadji] Diouf and [Ivan] Campo. But they've got a new owner now and I’m sure they’ll come back."

For all his schooling at one of the Glasgow giants, life at Rangers will take some adjustment for O'Halloran. The club will have to be creative in finding ways to use the former St Johnstone player's flaring pace against teams which like to sit in, while becoming a more consistent finisher with the increased chances which will come his way could see him take the next step as a player. Mark Warburton feels the player's quiet demeanour should not be mistaken for a lack of confidence while pace is a key building block in his team.

"We had Andre Gray [at Brentford, now championship top scorer with Burnley], who was a powerhouse," said Warburton. "We had Moses Adebajo, who was a rapid right-back. We had people like Jota, a Spanish boy who was all left foot but supremely quick. Pace is a massive attribute to have, it can unlock any defence. Space behind is important of course, but if you can channel that into your style of play it's a great plus for you."

As fast as O'Halloran is, he may be getting faster still. Rangers have personal websites which analyse each player's physical data and provide DVD clips of all their touches and the 25-year-old is in danger of becoming obsessed with this self-analysis. "Although sometimes," he admits ruefully, "when you have just been doing meaningless runs for 90 minutes, the lads say you are just doing it to get your stats up!"