Jock Wallace was instrumental in Rangers winning their only major European trophy as Willie Waddell’s assistant in Barcelona 50 years ago.
And Ted McMinn is convinced the legendary Ibrox figure will be looking down on his old Seville stomping ground as the Light Blues go for glory in Spain again.
Wallace spent a season in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium hot-seat where Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his men aim to make history.
It came in 1986 when he left his second stint in charge of Rangers to make way for the Graeme Souness revolution.
Ibrox cult hero McMinn was the only Scot to follow him to the Andalusian capital with Souness calling time on the Rangers career of the man affectionately known as the ‘Tin Man’.
Injuries hampered McMinn’s time in La Liga while the language barrier proved too big a hurdle for Wallace.
However, the pair are still fondly remembered in Seville and McMinn believes it would be a fitting venue for Rangers to lift their second European trophy.
Rangers were given extra motivation to reach the Europa League Final after the death of kitman Jimmy Bell just days before the second leg of their semi final against RB Leipzig.
In a season where Walter Smith also passed away to hit the club hard, lost legends will be on their minds at full time if they can win.
And McMinn, 59, told Record Sport : “If Rangers win there will be a tear in my eye and Big Jock will be in my thoughts.
“There is a lot of emotion around the club just now but for me Jock will be looking down and loving the fact Rangers are in a European final in a city that was so special to him.
“Everyone will want a win for the likes of Walter Smith and Jimmy Bell - who was the Park’s of Hamilton bus driver when I was there - and Big Jock for me. He’d be so proud of this team.”
Wallace’s move was, quite bizarrely, brokered by a Spanish restaurant owner in Leicester City who he knew from his time as Foxes boss and an English-based Spanish journalist.
He never grasped the language and was dismissed after just a season in charge, although during that time he did manage a win over Terry Venables’ Barcelona in the Nou Camp.
A ninth place finish was no disgrace for a team that had been struggling before he took over and players such as former Seville boss Manolo Jimenez spoke highly of him.
Prior to a Champions League clash against Gers in 2009, he said: “I would not be sitting here now had it not been for Jock Wallace.
“He instilled in me a will to win which has served me well. I would also like to give a special mention to Ted McMinn who was a team-mate of mine at Sevilla.”
Wallace played a huge part in the history of Rangers and not always in a good way as he was the man who led, while also playing, Berwick Rangers to that shock 1967 Scottish Cup win over the Ibrox side.
And that helped him earn a move to his spiritual home where he became a coach under the great Waddell.
Waddell left following that 72 triumph for a role behind the scenes with Wallace taking over and in two spells as manager won ten trophies, including two trebles, in a silverware-laden spell.
A former army jungle fighter, Wallace was an uncompromising character and a strong disciplinarian who famously took his players to the Gullane sand dunes for tough pre-season sessions.
His comment ‘we’ve got the battle fever’ during an STV interview before the 1984 League Cup final win against Celtic is still used in terrace chants today.
McMinn said of their time in Spain: “It was a father-son thing. I lived with him for the first month and a half.
“He drove me into training every morning. Eventually I said, 'Look drop me off about 800 yards before the ground and I'll make my own way in from there. The lads won't like it if they keep seeing us coming in together’.
“Jock Wallace’s name is a big thing in Seville. The language was the biggest barrier for both us as well as injuries for myself, I broke my foot early on.
“You couldn’t get away without not speaking the language. We tried but couldn’t manage but he had a great reputation.
“We could order two beers but none of the menus were in English and our interpreter did our team talks. It was hard for us.
“I still loved the experience of playing over there - places like Barcelona and Real Madrid. It was an eye opener for me but he took it in his stride.
“Walter was fantastic for me and the main man. Graeme Souness was still learning the management side and Walter was the most experienced.
“He didn’t want me to go to Spain but I was always going to play second fiddle to Davie Cooper and at some stage of your career you need regular football.
“It was a shock because I was sitting in my flat in Shawlands - no mobile phones in those days - and a voice on the other end of the line said ‘It’s the gaffer’.
“He said they’d just watched our game against Borussia Mönchengladbach and the chairman wanted to sign me.
“I was thinking ‘Jeez, a wee boy from Dumfries going to Spain’. It was a dream and I left it with him and eventually it happened.
“I've still got friends from my time there. My interpreter Bob. We had a lot of Spanish internationals. The defender Serna, Manuel Jimenez - who became the manager - and Rafa Paz.
“Seville will not know what’s hit them. I know Celtic went over in 2003 and took about 80,000 but the estimates are that Rangers could take even more.
“I’ve had plenty of messages from friends and Rangers fans about tickets and accommodation questions because prices shot up once they reached the final.
“It’s so special for me that the final is in Seville and I’ve said to anyone who has been in touch that it’s a fantastic stadium and very open with a great atmosphere.
“It’s like all Spanish stadiums - shaped like a bowl - and it’s a great place. The biggest thing will be the heat and that’s one of the problems I struggled with.
“We trained at 7am and 10pm because it was cooler. Jock Wallace used to take us up to Pamplona to train when we had a break because it was cooler.
“I went back to the apartment I rented in the old town and met my friend who has the hotel and the interpreter and some of my old team-mates who work for the club.”
