In between, there have been other successes and good performances, and, while he remains realistic, the manager feels his men have to be considered among the few sides capable of beating the Old Firm.

“I never lose sight of the fact that Rangers, and Celtic for that matter, have very good players and, if they play at their best and we play at ours, there is every chance they will run out winners,” said Craig.

“I think, though, we have now done enough against them to believe we can beat them and the players have earned the right to go out on the pitch thinking this is a game they could win.”

And he is convinced just that mindset will dramatically increase the chances of success in a fixture he is looking forward to.

“I do believe that is half the battle. Very often, the problem when you are facing the two teams from Glasgow is that players are thinking about the size of club they are up against and not the 11 players, and that makes it intimidating.

“What I know about the group of players I have, is they won’t let that happen. I am not saying they will go out and win, because you can never say that, but I do know they will have the right approach and give it their best shot.

“This, and next week’s game against Hearts, are certainly games we are looking forward to. Already this season, we have been involved in games where the issue was relegation, and I know I much prefer to be thinking about games at the other end where you are trying to close a gap on one rival and stay ahead of another.”

Regarding fitness, the next 24 hours is likely to see a decision taken on Francisco Sandaza after he returned to training today following a foot problem.

Although the Spaniard has missed only one game, the injury has been a concern for a few weeks and he is by no means certain to make it.

“He played against Hamilton and St Mirren after getting an injection in his foot. It goes back to the Kilmarnock game when he picked up the injury, so we’ll need to see how he is feeling,” explained Craig.

Tickets for both home and away fans are still available for Saturday and will be on sale until 7 pm this evening and from 9 am-5 pm tomorrow from the club shop.

Their Broadwood home, one of the most exposed grounds in the country, was unplayable last Saturday and, with no sign of an improvement in the weather, the chances of action there in less than 48 hours look slim.

“I’m going to phone (Clyde boss) John Brown later and see what the story is, but I’d say already there has to be a doubt about Saturday,” said Jocky.

“If it does go off, that will mean we’ll only have had one game, against St Johnstone, in a month and that’s a nightmare.

“We’ve been going along well and getting results, and the last thing we wanted was games going off.”

The low temperatures have also made it impossible to arrange close-door games for the players who are returning from injury and that has not improved Jocky’s mood any.

“These boys are being held up by the lack of games and this isn’t doing the squad as a whole any good.

“If Saturday’s off, I’ll have gone from having a few who needed a game to a whole squad needing one — the boys are desperate to play.”

So far, no new date for the Livingston game has been forthcoming from the Scottish League, though next midweek looks a strong possibility.

The Perth men have drawn their last three league matches and Derek feels two of them should have been won.

“Draws have been part of our downfall, and it’s vital for us to win on Saturday,” he said.