What Celtic and Rangers emotional torture is REALLY like for managers from escape routes to 'bring it on'

There's probably a bit of him that misses the madness of it all. You don’t spend almost 50 years in football without developing a sadomasochistic streak.

But, for the most part, Gordon Strachan is happy to be well out of the Old Firm firing line. Especially in weeks such as this. On Sunday Glasgow’s feuding neighbours will go toe-to-toe in a potentially titanic Scottish Cup showdown at Hampden. And in this week’s semi-final special episode of our Off the Record podcast, former Celtic boss Strachan has lifted the lid on the emotional torture involved before, during and after managing on derby day.

He said: “There’s a point where you’ve finished whatever game you’ve been playing, then you have a day when you think, ‘Oh, it’s coming up, the Old Firm game’. So you’ve probably got a day to reflect on it and that’s the day when you’re probably a wee bit wary. You think, ‘I wish the game was finished now, I knew the result and I knew what’s going to happen with the rest of my life! Am I going to be in a job? How many people are waiting for me outside the stadium when the game’s finished?’ And you think, ‘Right OK, is there an escape route out of this stadium where nobody can see me?’ But once the training starts, it’s good fun. You take on the challenge.”

For Ange Postecoglou and Michael Beale, this week will be spent trying to shake off the lethargy of under par performances against Motherwell and Aberdeen. Neither man can afford a repeat when the fireworks go off at the national stadium. But Strachan has personal experience of what this incendiary fixture could have in store for the men in charge. And absolutely no idea what they can do to spare themselves from the blast. Speaking in the podcast he recalls his first ever