The year always starts the same way in Ibrox - with a quiet act of remembrance in memory of those 66 Rangers fans who lost their lives almost five decades ago.

It remains one of the worst tragedies in the history of British football.

And while Ibrox Stadium has changed dramatically since the events of January 2, 1971, any football fan who has attended a Glasgow derby can well imagine the events of that awful day; the closing moments of the game, the aftermath in Stairwell 13.

Those events would lead to 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries, as well as countless families anxiously waiting at home for news of their loved ones.

Before it all, Celtic, the away side, took the lead through Jimmy Johnstone in the 90th minute of the game, leaving Rangers with virtually no chance of scoring a leveller. Somehow they managed it, with Colin Stein levelling seconds later.

The Rangers' ends, who had thought they were beaten, celebrated wildly and, when the final whistle sounded, began to file out many heading to the exit which was closest to Copland Road Subway.

There is still a commonly held myth that many in the home support had left the ground after Celtic had taken the lead and the ensuing disaster unfolded when fans tried to get back in after Rangers had levelled. This was proven to be completely untrue in the accident enquiry that followed, which showed that the victims had all been going in the one direction, out the ground - possibly home to their friends and families, when the crush began.

The stairways were rebuilt with fan safety at the forefront of the design brief after the events of 1971

What was never conclusively established was the trigger although some reports at the time claimed that the crush began when a child who was being carried on his father's shoulders fell, sparking a fatal chain reaction.

Every modern fan can relate to that moment. Every one has stood in a crowd, trying to get in or out of a ground and feeling others push and squeeze behind you.

It is difficult, however, to imagine just how those fans would have felt that day when they realised that something was wrong, something was different. That people were trapped and that those angry shouts for space were turning into ones of panic and terror.

When the crowd eventually did disperse, police and ambulance services found bodies piled six feet high.

Soon, injured victims were being carried onto the pitch where medical staff and management from both Celtic and Rangers joined the desperate efforts to try and save them.

The legacy of that day is evident today at Ibrox, not just in the statue marking the tragedy - where captain of the day and the greatest ever Ranger, John Greig, stands over a plinth which bears the names of the 66 who died.

You can also see it in the actual bricks and mortar as Rangers, over the next two decades, completely transformed the stadium. The stairways were rebuilt, seating was brought in and the stands rebuilt with fan safety at the forefront of the design brief.

Never forgotten: The names of the 66 victims of the 1971 Ibrox disaster

It is, however, worth taking the time to read the stories behind the names on the plaque. They only drive home the extent of this tragedy and show why for generations of Rangers fans, it will forever be ingrained in their memories.

The youngest victim that day in 1971 was nine-year-old Neil Pickup who had travelled up from Liverpool for the game.

Also listed below the statue at Ibrox are the names Peter Easton, Martin Paton, Mason Phillips, Brian Todd and Douglas Morrison, five boys aged between 13 and 15, all from the same village in Fife who never returned home.

Picturing those faces and trying to imagine how their families coped gives you some understanding of why this tragedy is still so keenly felt by the club and its supporters.

Speaking in an interview in a match day programme on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, John Greig tried to find the words to not just pass on his memories but convey just why the day has never really left him.

"It was only some 20 or 30 minutes after the final whistle that I realised the extent of the tragedy," he said. "Most of the players left the stadium knowing something had happened. I stayed behind for treatment, but when I went down the tunnel and saw all those poor people that had died covered up, that was when it hit me.

"The feeling of helplessness surrounded most of the people at Ibrox, and it was left to the professionals to get on with helping those injured.

"I think I can say, probably on behalf of everybody here at Rangers, that will remain the saddest day not only in our life-span, but ever in the history of the club."

Rangers legend John Greig lays a wreath at the memorial marking the 1971 Ibrox Disaster

"Willie Waddell (Rangers manager at the time) contacted all of the bereaved families to ask permission for players and officials from the club to attend each and every one of the funerals. An absolutely horrendous time because each individual at the club felt it had happened to their own familes."

"One thing I'll never forget was the next time we played at Ibrox against Dundee United on January 16 was the atmosphere inside the park. It was the strangest game I ever played in.

"From a personal point of view it's something I'll never forget. It's always at the back of my mind when I take people around the new stadium we have rebuilt that it has been built in memory for those unfortunate supporters and their families.

"I sincerely hope that we never see the likes of that day at Ibrox or any other ground again."

Article first published on January 2, 2018