HISTORY has been made at Ibrox. Now Steven Gerrard will hope that it repeats itself as his Premiership champions bid for domestic domination.

In 1975, Rangers ended their long, agonising wait for a title triumph and in doing so ensured Celtic’s run of nine successive league flags would finally be halted.

The cups were write-offs. Rangers wouldn’t progress out of their section in the League Cup, while Aberdeen knocked them out of the Scottish Cup after a third-round replay.

The following season, Jock Wallace’s side swept the board in Scotland. The new Premier Division title was won, while Celtic and Hearts were beaten as silverware was lifted at Hampden.

More than four decades on, the similarities in the situations are clear and Rangers once again find themselves with the chance to assert their superiority after returning to the top of Scottish football.

The Premiership has been secured. Now it must be defended and added to as the class of 2021 attempt to follow in some illustrious footsteps at Ibrox.

That title in ’75 was Derek Johnstone’s first for Rangers. As Wallace’s side retained their crown, he would finish as Rangers’ top scorer and ensure the champions were serial winners rather than one season wonders.

“When I joined Rangers, I was in the office with Big Jock and Willie Waddell and they said that if I wanted to finish in the middle of the league, then not to bother signing here,” Johnstone said.

“Rangers are a club built to win trophies, that is what they are made for. Managers don’t last if Rangers aren’t successful and that is the same for players as well.

“There is a certain mindset at Ibrox. When you are there, if you lose it is a crisis and you have to be able to handle all that pressure and expectation.

“I came to Rangers to win. I had to learn very quickly about how teams play against you in terms of the physicality and what it took to play for Rangers.

“That season was my first title, it took me four or five to win the league and Celtic were moving towards what would become their nine-in-a-row.

“Eventually we got there in ’75 and it was a culmination of the players coming in being better than what we had and the ones there learning and improving all the time.

“To finally win the league that season was just fantastic. It meant so much to everyone at the club after such a long time for Rangers and it is the same for the fans that celebrated last season after so many difficult years.”

For a generation of supporters, the day that the Division One title was secured – courtesy of Colin Stein’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Hibernian - will live long in the memory as Rangers celebrated in the capital.

Such occasions are to be savoured by fans. Those of today will forever cherish 55 as the most significant in the club’s history but the players that achieved it must now focus on the next one at a club where the demands are incessant.

Rangers have had issues to contend with in the opening weeks of their title defence. That was the case for Wallace's side, too, as early points were dropped and ground was lost.

In time, Rangers showed the mark of champions that had taken them to the league flag and Gerrard will hope that the Light Blues are now back on track following the defeats to Dundee United and Malmo that saw momentum lost.

“There wasn’t a stand behind the goal at the time,” Johnstone recalled of the title-winning day at Easter Road. “It was just the terracing and there were thousands and thousands of Rangers fans there to see us win the league.

“We went round the park and it was phenomenal at the end. Nobody left, everyone wanted to celebrate it with us and be part of that occasion.

“That got into the heads of everyone and those that hadn’t done it before knew what winning the league was all about then. It is similar to last season with Rangers.

"After that, we had that mindset of wanting more and more because it was so good and that is what these players will now be thinking going into this season.

“It was always going to be harder the following season because you are the team that everyone wants to be beat now that you are the champions. Everyone wants to beat Rangers anyway, but that is even greater when you are the champions.

“Jock spoke about winning the battle then winning the war and that is the attitude that we had that took us to the title.

“We went away on our holidays and couldn’t wait to get back for pre-season because you were on such a high and you were desperate to get back and do it again.

“It was that mindset that made it easy for the manager because the standards were so high and the competition was such that if you didn’t perform you would be out the team. That just drove everyone on during a great time for Rangers.”

The Treble of ’76 was followed by another two seasons later as Rangers lifted all three trophies for the fourth time in their illustrious history.

It was a show of strength from Wallace and his players. After a decade of failure, Rangers were a force to be reckoned with once again.

Today, the ambition is clear for Gerrard and his players. Their places in Ibrox folklore have been enshrined, but their legendary status can still be enhanced in the coming months.

“The league is marathon, but the cups are the sprints,” Johnstone said. “Jock would say to us that the fans would always remember the Treble winners. That was the legend of Rangers Football Club.

“Winning the league is fantastic, you might think you are great, but if you win Trebles you will feel even better and be appreciated even more. I hope that is the mindset of these players today.

“A lot of them, like it was in my day, hadn’t won the league before and I was there a long time before I won it. But once you do, you want more.

“They now know what it feels like to be a champion, something they had never done before in their careers. They should want more of that and that has to drive them on this season.

“You saw the reaction from Steven and his staff when the league was won and he was sliding on the floor in the dressing room. It was brilliant.

“But he will want more of that and he will instil that in the players. They will want to show the fans that they can not only win the league but win the Treble.”