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How difficult do you suppose it might be to find an Ibrox legend willing to talk about that unforgettable day when Big Rangers were humiliated by Wee Rangers? More difficult than locating a Daniel Prodan "best bits" DVD in the club shop, that's what. More difficult than wrestling the dressing-room mirror from Lorenzo Amoruso in his tousled, love-god pomp. More difficult than staying upright in the penalty-box if your name's John McDonald.
But admittedly not quite as difficult as trying to count grains of sand after you'd been ordered to run up some formidable dunes by the growling ex-Commando who'd been the architect of your Scottish Cup downfall at Berwick. And while we're at it, surely discovering that Jock Wallace had suddenly been put in charge of your training was having insult added to injury.
The trail in search of the Shielfield Vanquished had taken me to Broxburn, West Lothian and to Spain, and to hotels and pubs once owned by ex-Rangers, but the wee right winger didn't want to talk and the silky left-half couldn't be found. Then: a breakthrough. Hello, is that Ronnie McKinnon's twin brother and is he with you? Yes, says Donnie, ex-Partick Thistle, but he's having his tea. A short while later, the best Gers centre-half post-Big George Young calls back. He'll talk, but not today, the day of the 40th anniversary memorial service for the 66 who died at Ibrox watching the football - he wants to wait until he gets home. Well, there's perspective on the "disaster" of Berwick Rangers 1, Glasgow Rangers 0 right away.
Home for McKinnon, now 70, is the Outer Hebrides, a croft in Point, near Stornoway. "I don't just like it here, I love it," he says. "The view out my window is Broad Bay, which is magical, and not far away is Carloway where my mother brought Donny and I during the war when bombs were dropped on Govan." It was ten years ago that Lewis, his mum's birthplace, provided sanctuary for McKinnon for a second time. He mostly enjoyed the three decades he spent in South Africa selling cars but had witnessed more than his share of violence and death on the streets. "And I was lucky enough to be...