Rangers Legends return will be the calm before the storm at Ibrox for Giovanni van Bronckhorst

For 90 minutes on Saturday – or for however long his now 47-year-old legs will permit – Giovanni van Bronckhorst will enjoy a carefree return to the Ibrox pitch.

The laughs and jokes he will no doubt share with former team-mates such as Michael Mols, Jorg Albertz and Barry Ferguson as they line up for a Rangers Legends side against a World Legends team to celebrate his club’s 150th anniversary will be in sharp contrast to the serious business van Bronckhorst will engage in when he is back prowling the edge of the home technical area at the stadium eight days later.

Ahead of a seismic final two months of the season for the Rangers manager, which begins with what is realistically a must-win Old Firm Premiership showdown at home to Celtic on April 3, he will certainly savour the more light-hearted diversion which his club’s 150th anniversary celebration match on Saturday provides.

Whatever the rest of the campaign holds in store for van Bronckhorst as his team pursue success in three competitions at home and in Europe, he is at the helm of a club in a far more upbeat set of circumstances than the last time he pulled on a Rangers jersey.

Back in March 2012, van Bronckhorst was part of a Rangers Legends side who played AC Milan Glorie at Ibrox. The charity match had been arranged before Craig Whyte plunged Rangers into administration the previous month.

On a Friday night, a remarkable crowd of 47,521 were in attendance to witness van Bronckhorst whip over a cross from the left for then Rangers manager Ally McCoist to head home the only goal of the contest. McCoist, of course, would subsequently see his dream job turn into a nightmare as Rangers began the following season in the fourth tier of Scottish football.

The recovery