WILLIE ORMOND looked at the players in front of him and said: "Stand proud - don't dare let anyone down. You are all just 90 just minutes away from becoming legends."
That was back on September 26, 1973 and we were just about to take to the Hampden pitch for a make-or-break World Cup qualifier against Czechoslovakia.
I would imagine Alex McLeish may say something similar to his troops on Saturday before we face Italy. The parallels are there for all to see. Scotland, 34 years ago, hadn't qualified for the World Cup Finals for 16 long, miserable years.
Scotland of today haven't been involved in a major finals of any sort since the World Cup in France in 1998. Now we can call a halt to almost a decade of failure by overturning the Italians.
It's a one-off game. We don't have to bother with permutations or suchlike.
Goal difference doesn't come into it Win and we are through.
Simple as that.
That's what we faced, too, back in 1973. I sat in the dressing room surrounded by players such as my boyhood hero Denis Law, Billy Bremner, Danny McGrain, Jim Holton, Kenny Dalglish and Sandy Jardine and we absolutely believed we could win.
We didn't under-estimate a Czech team that would go on and win the European Championship in 1976, beating world champs West Germany on penalties in the final.
They were a class outfit but we gave every ounce of energy we had that stirring night in Glasgow.
We even gifted them the opening goal before coming back to level through Holton and then grab the winner through a young Joe Jordan, coming on as a sub for Dalglish.
I thought my heart was about to explode at the final whistle.
I can tell the present lot it is a feeling that will live with them forever if they succeed on Saturday.
And Glasgow is hardly a happy hunting ground for the Italians - they have never won there in three attempts.
That record stretches back to 1965 when John Greig netted a lastminute winner at a packed Hampden Park.
There have been two draws since - a goalless encounter at Ibrox in 1993 and last year's 1-1 stalemate at the national stadium.
History will go out of the window on Saturday. All that will matter is how Alex McLeish's men perform on the big day.
It's going to be a confrontation where every single player must be totally dedicated - just as we were in 1973.
This is NOT Mission Impossible against the best team in the world.
You only have to look at Celtic's win over reigning European kings AC Milan at Parkhead to see what can be achieved if you believe.
And I am certain Big Eck will work overtime in installing that self-belief all week.
He already deserves an enormous amount of credit for how he raised his team for the encounter against France in Paris in September.
As he strode on to the pitch that night he looked confident and comfortable. That aura gets through to players. It's an old cliche, but that Hampden crowd can get the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end. Believe me, I have savoured some fabulous moments at that famous old ground.
None better than the evening of April 15, 1970 when Celtic played Leeds in the European Cup semifinal.
A record crowd of 136,505 turned out and there was no way we were going to lose.
We won, of course. And the fans played their part. In the words of old Scotland boss Willie Ormond three years later, we knew we dare not let anyone down.
I'm confident that spirit, with a packed Hampden behind them, will prevail among the players against the world champions.
Go get 'em, Scotland!
IF I'm correct, the players shared what was called at the time a "fantastic" £250,000 for reaching the 1974 World Cup Finals. That's about a fortnight's wages for John Terry!
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IT'S amazing that Aberdeen haven't scored more than one goal in European competitions since 1996.
I believe they had a great chance to rectify that situation in the 1-1 draw on Thursday. Lokomotiv Moscow keeper Ivan Pelizzoli looked like a bit of a flapper.
But to get a point against such excellent opposition is not a failure.
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RANGERS should not be too downhearted after their 2-0 loss in Barcelona.
But it does underline the progress they have made under Walter Smith that they are on the brink of the last 16.
A year ago they were losing 2-0 to St Johnstone in the CIS Cup at Ibrox. Chalk and cheese!
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CELTIC know what they have to do to reach the last 16 - beat Shakhtar Donetsk by three clear goals.
I realise that Benfica could still scupper that by winning their remaining two games and then it could come down to goal difference with the head-to-heads between the clubs identical.
But I don't see that happening.
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JONATHAN PEARCE
ALEC STEWART
THE MOLE