Ally McCoist pulled at the heartstrings of Rangers fans tonight after the club's historic Europa League semi-final win over RB Leipzig with a tribute to legendary kitman Jimmy Bell and former boss Walter Smith.
In an emotionally charged night in Govan, Gio van Bronckhorst's Rangers side produced a performance for the ages as they downed the Germans 3-1 on the night to progress 3-2 on aggregate, despite having no recognised striker.
The win came just days after legendary kitman Jimmy Bell passed away and less than a year after the death of iconic manager Walter Smith.
Ibrox fell silent before kick-off to remember Bell and the players produced a performance he would have been proud of.
The Ibrox side faced an uphill battle to overcome a 1-0 first leg deficit but skipper James Tavernier got the comeback going with an early strike before Glen Kamara's composed finish from the edge of the box put the hosts ahead in the tie for the first time after 24 minutes.
Leipzig pulled one back midway through the second half to pile on the nerves for the capacity crowd, but John Lundstram popped up 10 minutes from time to spark euphoric scenes in the stands.
Rangers held out for the win and speaking on BT Sport, an emotional McCoist who was dancing and celebrating from the TV gantry at full-time, had Bell and Smith in his thoughts as Rangers marched on to the final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville later this month.
He said: "Honest to god they were the first people I thought of. Wee Walter and Jimmy, they'll be having a wee dram and a cuddle up there because that is absolutely magic.
"I have to say to you I'm actually in a bit of shock.
"I came here full of hope but I'm saying to myself 'this is a top team we are playing' and I think before we scored we saw shades of that.
"They are an excellent team, but see with a bit of organisation, a lot of spirit and a lot of ability, it's amazing what you can achieve."
He added: "I can't tell you how proud I am of those players, the fans, everything about tonight.
"I've been fortunate enough to come to this place and I've seen victories over Bayern Munich, Dinamo Kyiv, over Leeds United where the atmosphere has been the best.
"But that tonight will take some beating.
"That performance; Lundstram, Bassey, to a man, every one of them should be so proud of themselves.
"Nine years ago we were playing East Stirling in the Third Division - now we're in a European final."
Rangers fans can now look forward to their first European Final since 2008 when they take on Eintracht Frankfurt for the Europa League trophy on Wednesday, May 18.
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