Hamilton defender Mikey Devlin was an awe-struck 17-year-old the last time he prepared to take on Rangers at Ibrox.
While the scoreline that day was one he would rather forget, the experience is something he will always remember.
Today, as he prepares to return to the same venue as captain of his club at the age of just 22, he feels that he is rather more prepared for the task at hand than he was back in 2011.
“It was pretty mind-blowing,” Devlin remembered. “It came out of the blue a little bit.
“The squad was struggling and the older, experienced centre-backs – including the current manager – were out injured.
“I knew there was a chance of playing. Billy Reid took me aside and told me he was putting me in. It was a sleepless night beforehand. It was a fantastic occasion and I loved every minute of it, even though we lost 4-0 and I gave away a penalty! It was a memorable experience that I’ll never forget.
“I was up against Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty. It was the day before Kenny signed for Bursaspor.
“I’d like to think I’ve developed since then. It’s been a long five years full of ups and downs – personally and as a team.
“We were relegated that season. That was a good thing for me and a lot of the younger players because it gave us a chance to establish ourselves as first team players.
“I’ve learned a lot and I’m still learning now. I’m far from the finished article and I’ll continue to work hard. I feel I’ve developed a lot since that point and hopefully I can use the experience on Saturday.”
Despite feeling that both himself and his side are in a much better place than their last visit to Ibrox, he is still fully aware that Hamilton will have to perform at their best to come away with anything this afternoon.
While full of respect for Rangers though, he reckons that Accies have identified areas where they can hurt Mark Warburton’s men.
“We have a game-plan,” he said. “We’re under no illusions, it will be a difficult one against a hard team in Rangers. We’re confident we’re capable of going to get a positive result.
“We have to keep the ball. We can’t give possession away cheaply and we need to defend well. “Composure will be key. We can’t be overawed by a full house. It’ll be a big occasion but if we can defend well and keep the ball then we believe we have quality at the top end of the pitch to hurt teams in the Premiership.
“We’ve got a lot of good players who are capable of keeping the ball and creating, so hopefully we can get them the ball to try and hurt Rangers.
“As a team Rangers have been great and I don’t think there’s any doubt they’ll do well this year. “They’ve added to what they already had. They’re an attacking threat. We try to play that way, to be open, expansive and get at teams, but the downside is that can leave you vulnerable at the back.
“We need to look and see how we can attack them without leaving ourselves short. If we can win the ball high up the pitch and break quickly then maybe we can do something.
“We’ve seen footage of all of their games. We watched the Burnley and Motherwell games. It will be very tough and we have to be right on our game. It’s all well and good saying we need to keep the ball and do this and that.
“We just need to do the right things and hopefully get a positive result. I think I’ll get a better night’s sleep than I did before last time!”
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