THEY say the memory is the first to go. In Walter Smith's case, one specific display of absent-mindedness is nothing to worry about. Inviting the Rangers manager to recall the first Old Firm game he attended is like asking most men to remember the first time they fell asleep.

Smith is so immersed in the Glasgow derby they all blur into a vast mental mural of recollections. He is 60 and went to his first Old Firm fixture more than half a century ago. All that he can remember of it - although he may have been talking with tongue in cheek - was that "Rangers won".

Fifty years or so amounts to plenty of time to become hardened to the derby and develop a level of immunity to its pressures, or so you might think. "There's a period when you look forward to the game, then a bit when all the nervous tension comes out and then the delight or despair at the end,' said Smith. "I don't think anything ever changes in these games."

Smith was the manager of Everton for eight Merseyside derbies between 1998 and 2002 but his connection with that distinguished fixture was always professional rather than emotional. Glasgow is his' derby. "I'm maybe slightly biased because I've had far more Old Firm games than Everton-Liverpool derbies, but there's a different feel about Old Firm games. With the Liverpool derby, you'll get families where one half supports one side and the other half the other side. There is a different edge to an Old Firm game.

"The religious aspect of it is dying out a bit. It's still there, but the foreign players who are involved know that games like this are local derbies and big games. They're for the supporters as much as anything else. The Rangers-Celtic game is one of the biggest local derby games in the world. The foreign players all know that, or if they don't they find out pretty soon."

The Glasgow bearpit awaits them all again on Saturday when Celtic come to Ibrox for the second Old Firm game of the season. Rangers won the first by 4-2 at Parkhead at the end of August. It was a startling match in which Daniel Cousin and Pedro Mendes scored memorable goals and Kenny Miller claimed the first of his second spell with Rangers, and then the second, and Cousin and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink saw red within minutes of each other. The drama continued. Later that night, Celtic coach Neil Lennon was assaulted and within days a website carried a death threat against Rangers forward Nacho Novo.

Off-field incidents are beyond the clubs' control, although Smith argued that the matches themselves tend to be relatively well-behaved.

"We haven't had any major incidents, only handbag-type ones recently. Considering the tension that surrounds them, the majority of Old Firm games are played out in a reasonable manner. There's going to be an edge, there will always be a clash or two."

The visit to Parkhead resulted in Rangers' finest result of the season so far, even if their captain couldn't bring himself to sit through it. Barry Ferguson was recovering from ankle surgery and watching the derby on television was another source of agony.

"I actually didn't see it all," he said. " I kept switching channels, getting up and doing stupid things. I couldn't watch it. It's hard when you're not involved. I could only relax when we went two goals ahead. It was easy to watch then."

Smith thought the victory was helped by good fortune. "Circumstances went our way in that game," he said. "You're always grateful when it happens but, equally, there are some Old Firm games where the team plays well but can find itself a goal down rather than two up."

It happened in arguably the most significant Old Firm game he has been in charge of, the 1997 New Year fixture. Smith brought Erik Bo Andersen off the substitutes' bench with the score at 1-1 after 75 minutes and the Dane scored twice in a 3-1 win. It helped them towards a historic league championship triumph.

"We were going for nine-in-a-row and that was a game where Celtic were putting us under pressure and were actually the better team. When you make a substitution and then get two goals from it it was relief more than anything else. It was a game where we maybe didn't deserve to take anything from it but we were delighted to."

Smith and his players will be in for training on Christmas Day this week, part of a schedule designed to make the run-in to Saturday feel as normal as possible despite the festive distractions. He worked with his defenders last week after the concession of four penalty-box goals in recent away matches against Hearts and Dundee United - he later said they needed to be tougher - and will again concentrate on defending crosses against Celtic.

Left-back Sasa Papac said there was a collective responsibility to do better. "We have had a little problem with cross balls and we need more concentration when the ball comes into the box," he said. "We must try to do better, and not just the defenders.

"We've had problems in our away matches this season but we must play all those other teams in the same way that we did in the win at Parkhead. We've dropped points to Hearts, Motherwell and Dundee United recently. We are all focused for Old Firm games but we need to show that level of concentration all the time."

As ever, there will be keen interest on Smith's attitude to Kris Boyd on Saturday. A serial pillager of goals against every other SPL side, he has scored only once against Celtic in his career. Smith hasn't done much for his prospects of improving that statistic.

He has not played him at all in any of the past five meetings. In fact, Boyd has played only once against Celtic in the seven derbies since Smith returned, a 2-0 win 18 months ago in which he scored that solitary goal. "I'm sure Boydie's desperate to be involved in this one," said Ferguson. " I know the he was gutted before the last one at Parkhead when he was left out. But it just shows what kind of character he is that he's come back.

"He wasn't even on the bench for the last game so he'll want to prove a point. Boydie's a confident guy and he knows he can score goals. People have questioned whether he can do it against the big teams but I'm sure if he gets a chance against anyone he'll take it.

"He's a strong character. I've noticed a big difference in him this season. To play for the Old Firm, you've got to be mentally strong and be able to deal with things upstairs'. He's changed that this season. He's added the work ethic. I think any defence would worry about a guy with a goalscoring record like Boydie's."

For his manager, the derby has a been a worry, and a wonder, for 50 years.