THEY were the most important minutes of Rangers’ season and George Edmundson’s Ibrox career to date. Only time will tell how significant they turn out to be in the long run.

As Steven Gerrard sought to run down the clock at Parkhead, he would turn to Edmundson in an attempt to kill some time and then kill off Celtic’s chances of denying Rangers a deserved victory.

The former Oldham kid would replace Steven Davis as he made an Old Firm debut that would certainly be memorable for the 22-year-old. Alfredo Morelos saw red, Rangers saw it out and the celebrations said it all about how important the points were in the title race.

It was a brief introduction into the famous fixture for Edmundson but he would relish the occasion and the atmosphere. His first taste of the Old Firm has certainly whetted his appetite.

“I know I only came on for four minutes at Celtic Park, but I got a massive buzz of it,” Edmundson said. “For the gaffer to put me on shows that he has got confidence in me because it is one of the biggest games in the season.

“I look upon that as a massive positive. As I said, it might only have been four minutes but it was unbelievable – one of the best games I have been involved in.

“Obviously my adrenaline was pumping but I wouldn’t say I was nervous or anything. I was more just thinking ‘we can do this’. At the corner, I just wanted to go and head the ball away as far as I could.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous, I was more excited. When you are on the bench, you just want to get on and play football so I was buzzing.

“The changing room was buzzing and everyone was in high spirits. It was great, unbelievable, and one of my best days.

“Everybody knows that we haven’t won anything yet or done anything. We still have a lot of games to go so we will take every game as it comes and see where it takes us at the end of the season.”

Edmundson had to watch the first Old Firm game from the stands in September as boss Gerrard started with Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic and Filip Helander took a seat on the bench.

t Hampden, it was the Swede that got the nod as Rangers somehow missed out on Betfred Cup glory and the first silverware of the Gerrard era.

Edmundson’s moment finally arrived a fortnight ago as he played his own part in a famous win for the Light Blues that has raised expectations for an even greater success.

It was another milestone in the Englishman’s career as he continues to take steps forward following his summer move from Boundary Park to Ibrox.

The festive period was very different for Edmundson this time around. Just a year after losing 6-0 at Carlisle, he would win the biggest game of his life.

“After that Carlisle game, I never thought I would be at a club like Rangers within 12 months,” he said.

“Since I moved, it has been about getting to grips with things and settling down, seeing how things work at the club and in Scotland. It has been a hectic 12 months but really good at the same time.

“Looking back at that game in Carlisle, we actually didn’t play too bad as a team. It was just one of those games with individual errors, goalkeeping errors and people getting caught on the ball. I know it sounds funny but we actually didn’t play too bad.

“Even so, the mood after the game was horrendous. And then Frankie Bunn goes afterwards. It wasn’t one of my best times in football, put it that way.”

The world has changed considerably for Edmundson over the last few months and he now finds himself in Dubai as Rangers get put through their paces at a winter training camp.

The Old Firm run out was just his seventh first team appearance of the campaign but patience will be a virtue for the stopper this term as he continues to learn his trade.

His time in the Middle East gives him a chance to catch Gerrard’s eye as Rangers regroup ahead of their return to action and a huge second half of the season.

Edmundson said: “The break was really good. I got to go home and see some family, so it was really nice.

“Now we’re looking forward to the second part of the season. For me, I look at Niko and see how he has come in and taken his chance.

“There is still a lot of games to come, half a season, really, so I am hoping that I can feature a few more times before the end of the season.

“Obviously, the team has been doing really well in all the competitions so I can’t really say that I deserve to be playing or that I should be playing.

“The team has winning matches and the players in those positions have been playing really well. I just need to bide my time and see what happens.

“I have said previously that I knew I wasn’t going to come straight into the team and that this was a big step up for me.

“This first season is just about learning my way and what it means to be at Rangers. The gaffer has said how I can get in but I feel that I need to be patient and my time will come.”