But, while there seems no chance of them ever seeing him play competitively for the club again, they shouldn't rule out the possibility of him joining their coaching staff.

The great Dane's name has been mentioned in connection with the academy which Rangers are currently creating on the outskirts of Glasgow. Who knows, the doors of the place may yet open to him.

Laudrup certainly didn't motion to close them behind him when he was asked whether he would mind returning to a country which he graced with his presence under Walter Smith's management of Rangers.

'Good question,' responded the man who brought his family over with him from Copenhagen for the old crocks' celebration. 'On Saturday, we took a trip to Helensburgh where, of course, we used to live.

'The kids said to me when we got there they would like to come back. At the moment, I'm not thinking about doing so but, of course, you never know what might happen in the future.'

Laudrup's career since leaving Rangers took him to England with Chelsea, Denmark with FC Copenhagen and Holland with Ajax.

None of these clubs got anything like the return from him which Rangers did, before he announced his retirement, aged just 31, last year.

Subsequent stories about him picking up again with his local amateur team have been exaggerated, it seems. All he ever said was that he might play a couple of games for them and his debut hasn't been recorded yet.

So does he miss the game, with all its stresses? 'I think any player when he retires misses the dressing room and the big games,' he admitted. 'I mean, to run out at Ibrox in front of 50,000 people was always very special.

'So, yes, I miss these things about football. But there are others, such as staying in hotels before games and being away in training camps. I can safely say that I don't miss them at all.'

Laudrup, like all the others who took part in Sunday's charity game involving the Old Firm, was warmed by the reception he got from the crowd. What induced 50,000 to turn out for the occasion, he wondered.

'I was told, initially, that the people organising the game expected an attendance of about 25,000,' he admitted. 'Then, as the date got closer, I started to hear talk that the game could be a sell-out.

'Only in Glasgow, I think, could they get such a crowd. Back in Denmark, we can't get 50,000 to watch our national team; unless, of course, they're playing in a really important game.

'Sunday's turn-out was absolutely amazing. It really shows you what the Old Firm are about and, after being away from here for a few seasons, I thor-oughly enjoyed the feeling of being back.'

Laudrup was pleased all the more that the Achilles tendon injury, which helped account for the fact that he quit playing professionally when he did, hadn't proved too troublesome.

'I hadn't done anything for three or four months before I was invited to come over to play in this match,' he said. 'So I ran about ten miles in two days, then couldn't move for about a week after that.

'I was still a wee bit nervous about my fitness when I went into the game and, having played the first half, I felt it was best that I spend some time on the bench. But I felt okay when I came back on again.

'The welcome I got was really satisfying. It's what you hope for on such occasions and the reason why you'd do anything possible just to be involved in games like these.'

Laudrup, who keeps in touch with Rangers issues through the internet, duly admitted that it was unlikely he would sever his connections with football completely.

'Football has been my existence for 14 years or so,' he acknowledged. 'I said when I retired I wanted to take a year out and, while I am keeping my distance at the moment, there's a chance I could be back at some point.

'Whether that might be in coaching, working possibly with youth teams, I don't know. Maybe I wouldn't come back in management, but there are a lot of other things to do besides that.'