Dick Advocaat yesterday came dangerously close to breaking one of the conventions of his trade when he gave advice to other managers on how they should play at Ibrox. If they cared to listen, the season might turn out to be more interesting.

"A lot of teams come here to try and stop us from playing and mostly they lose," said the Rangers boss. "Maybe it would be better if they just tried to play their normal game." Motherwell will tomorrow become the next club to try to solve the conundrum of how to compete with a side playing in a league of their own.

Advocaat has banned his players from talking about Parma until chores against Motherwell and Dundee United have been completed and Rangers fly off to Italy for a second-leg qualifier that could put them back in the Champions League.

Europe provided another example of how the Old Firm are now only distant relations to the rest of the Premier League. Rangers clearly defeated one of the best defensive teams in Serie A, and Celtic took as many goals as they wanted against Cwmbran; St Johnstone and Kilmarnock could not win in Finland and Iceland.

Celtic, who meet Dundee United at Tannadice, are likely to relegate Alan Stubbs to the bench.