The nightmare Rangers preparation before Celtic Scottish Cup thriller revealed as 'strange' preparation sparked triumph

Alarm bells gave Arthur Numan a rude awakening on the morning of the 2002 Scottish Cup Final.

But there was no need to panic after the Dutchman and his Rangers side stirred themselves into action, with Peter Lovenkrands’ famous last-minute winner clinching a precious win over Celtic. Now the Ibrox legend is hoping modern-day boss Philippe Clement can rouse another grandstand finish from his Gers team this weekend and send the Light Blues legions to bed dreaming of better times next season.

Numan was part of the Alex McLeish side that left Celtic sickened when Lovenkrands swooped to snatch the cup after a 3-2 Hampden thriller. The Danes’ diving header came just minutes before the clock struck 5pm on Cup Final day - 13 hours after Numan and his yawning colleagues had found themselves shivering outside the team hotel in the dead of night wearing only their undies after fire alarms were set ringing.

Numan has no idea who caused the early-morning disturbance and whether it was a prank designed to wreck their chances. If it was a premeditated move, though, it back fired on Martin O’Neill’s Hoops as the fired-up Ibrox side mounted a brave comeback to snatch the trophy having twice trailed their Parkhead rivals.

“Yeah we were in the Crown Plaza,” said the Numan, now 54. “It was the middle of the night when the alarm went off. You thought, ‘what’s happening?’

“I think it turned out to be the best preparation for us because it kept us sharp! We were all standing out side the hotel in our underwear freezing.

“I don’t know what caused it. Maybe someone interfered with the smoke detector. But it was so strange. One minute you’re getting yourself ready for a cup final, the all of a sudden the alarm goes off at 4am and you’re standing