Rangers fan Halliday prepares for first Old Firm game as player

Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has been attending Old Firm derbies since he was too young to remember - but his lifelong experience has not stopped him seeking out advice from those who have played in the Glasgow derby.

The 24-year-old cannot remember his first match against Celtic as a Rangers fan but he wants to look back on his debut as a player with fond memories.

Like most of his team-mates, Halliday will face Celtic for the first time on Sunday in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals, and he knows his upbringing in the stands will not prepare him for life on the pitch.

"I have been asking people about it, I have been trying to tap into the knowledge of people like Ian Durrant and how they dealt with the fixture," the former Livingston, Middlesbrough and Bradford player said.

"I have been trying to tap into as much knowledge as I can and I'm sure the other boys are the same.

"But nothing can really prepare you for it. You just have to deal with it in your own manner.

"I have watched a few but nothing will compare to being on the field.You can tap into as much knowledge as you can, and you hear the likes of Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish speaking about how they dealt with the cauldron like it is.

"But you have just got to try and deal with it. I have tried to shut myself and not speak about it too much and just try and look forward to the occasion.

"The draw was five or six weeks ago and you can't walk 10 yards down the street without someone asking you about the fixture.

"We have had a lot of goals before then and we have managed to achieve them, and now it's all guns blazing for Sunday. You want to look back and say you did yourself justice."

Halliday admits he longed to play against Celtic when he watched his boyhood heroes in Old Firm derbies.

"I don't remember my first, I have been to a few," he said. "I have good memories and bad ones. Such is the occasion, the two biggest clubs in the country going at it.

"I have managed to see some good wins and some bad defeats. Hopefully we are part of a good win on Sunday but Celtic are certainly the benchmark, they are the number one team in the Premiership.

"I have dreamed of it because this is where you want to be as a football player. You want to play on these massive occasions.

"It's a spectacle that is watched worldwide and unfortunately we have not managed to see a few of these occasions in the last four years.

"It's a big occasion and I just want to go and enjoy it. The hard thing is the build-up, you just want to go out and enjoy the game."

Rangers have clinched the Championship and Petrofac Training Cup in their last two matches but Halliday knows they were expected to lift those trophies. And he knows the significance of Saturday's game and their Scottish Cup hopes.

"It would be the difference between a good season and a great season," he said.