The free-spending Glasgow giants dominated Scottish football in that era and first team mainstays like Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant and Andy Goram, larger-than-life characters whose love of a night out on the town was every bit as renowned as their ability, made sure they celebrated their victories accordingly.  

Neil Murray and his fellow players, though, were surprised when their manager Walter Smith allowed them to indulge in a small libation ahead of the Old Firm game against Celtic at Parkhead on January 1, 1994.

“We always stayed in the Moat House down in Finnieston, the hotel that is now the Crowne Plaza, the night before a game,” said Murray. “I can still remember being there that evening and Walter pouring out the vintage champagne for everyone. We were all allowed one glass because it was New Year, which was a novelty.”

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Rangers were missing Duncan Ferguson, Goram, McCoist and Davie Robertson going into that game. Their form leading into the encounter with their age-old adversaries, too, had been erratic. They had been beaten by Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Celtic and Dundee United in the Premier Division in the preceding...