Whether, in this instance, the replacement of past cultures and traditions will prove either successful or popular remains to be seen, but Chris Cusiter is relishing the prospect of a fresh start for the club as a new era gets underway with the first home match at Scotstoun Stadium against Llanelli's Scarlets.
"In terms of making this place out here a tough place to come, the way we made Firhill, the history starts on Friday night," he said. "We have no history here so we've got to make it a tough place to come. I know from speaking to other players they didn't enjoy coming to Firhill, whether because of the changing room they had or the atmosphere or the fact that we knew how to play there and generally won. That's what we've got to create here."
Cusiter owes a great deal in his rugby career to deposed leader Sean Lineen who originally introduced him to top level Scottish club rugby at Boroughmuir, before being bringing him back to the domestic game from Perpignan three years ago.
Yet while he already admits to having had a disagreement with Lineen's replacement Gregor Townsend, he expressed confidence that the club's future is in safe hands.
"I probably would have, and I told Gregor this, played some pre-season games rather than having your first rugby of the season in a competitive game last week, so that's a bit strange and probably the first time it's happened. But they have a plan and we do get quite well managed in Scotland, so I buy into that and I feel a lot better with 40 minutes under my belt last week," he explained. "I was a little bit rusty, but that's to be expected, and I'm expecting to play well this week on the back of that.
"I knew the plan because we'd been away touring. Do I agree with it?" He paused and exhaled before continuing: "Well I think it's important to get a good pre-season in, and we were only back for a week and a half or two weeks by the time the first game came around, so that's not ideal to be playing because if you're playing games and getting bumps and bruises you can't get the time in the gym that you need. So there's a balance that's got to be struck and by touring you also take away that period of the summer.
"The guys who were in from the start had a great pre-season. They were in for weeks and weeks and managed to get a lot of work done, so we are playing catch up a little bit and we have to sacrifice something by going on tour, and that's pre-season games. It's not the end of the world. It's just about looking after yourself and trying to be at your best. OK, we're probably not going to be peaking in the first game of the season but hopefully after two or three games we are.
"While I haven't played everywhere obviously, I think the way we do things in Scotland, in terms of our preparation and our professionalism we're up there with anyone in the world," the 2005 British & Irish Lion continued. "We pretty much leave no stone unturned in terms of the physical preparation we do, the analysis we do, all the little bits and pieces that go towards a professional outfit. Add to that the talent we have and a squad with the depth we have now and we definitely have everything. I think sometimes, particularly in Scotland, we look at other teams and think things there are better or whatever they're doing is more advanced, but that's definitely not the case. We definitely have everything we need, which is great for players, but it puts pressure on us to perform and get results. That's why last weekend was frustrating but as ever in rugby you've got a chance this week to put it right."
Those are important points for all involved in the sport to acknowledge because, far from being the poor relations that they were throughout Lineen's time in charge, Glasgow are now among the best resourced club's in Europe in terms of the depth of the playing squad now in place allied to the facilities available to them.
Even Inter-City rivals Edinburgh, based as they are at the national stadium at Murrayfield, do not have all the advantages that the leisure complex at Scotstoun boasts, while there is no way they will regularly be able to generate the sort of atmosphere that ought to be created at the more compact Glasgow venue.
Far from intimidated by that, Cusiter, who has played in the most hostile environments in world rugby with the Lions in New Zealand and in French club rugby, welcomes the challenge that it involves. "For the Scottish teams to move on, we need the expectation from the public and ourselves," he said. "For example, just getting to the semi-final was not good enough. We have to kick on and get a title. You don't get years and years of opportunities to do that. Last year for me was a missed opportunity because we were on such a good roll, and we did have a squad that was good enough to win that league but we didn't do it. This year is the next chance and we have everything in place so there's no excuses for not performing."
