Not being in the mood for any karaoke nonsense, I've spent the past few days in a darkened room, lamenting Sunday's Pawnshop Cup Final debacle, and I emerged in search of a brighter outlook, inevitably finding myself digging into the past and my back catalogue.
All the glory days are there to be relived; clips of Scot Symon's side of the 'sixties, footage of Big Jock's two Trebles, the Super Cooper Cup Final, Coisty's League Cup Final hat-trick, the excitement of the Souness seasons, Walter's unbeaten Champions League run, nine-in-a-row and Tricky Dicky's team at its best. It's called being spoiled for choice or, as my other half tends to say, burying your head in the sand.
But the game to lift my spirits this week wasn't from the distant past. My much-needed tonic dated back less than two years, when a patched-up Rangers side faced Motherwell in the League Cup and from that recording I saw enough to generate some hope - not a lot! - that this weekend might not see us suffer the gubbing so many of us now fear.
The secret of our success that night, when we blew the then-SPL leaders away, was pace and urgency. We were in their faces from the opening seconds, every Rangers player wanted the ball, we moved it about sharply and with a purpose, the Motherwell players simply didn't know what hit them.
If we are to have any chance of upsetting Dundee United on Saturday we must go about our business with the same drive and determination. The Arabs really ain't so hot. They are fine when they are given time on the ball, when teams back off and let them pick their passes, allowing them to dictate the pace and pattern of the game. If we give them too much respect this weekend, they will slaughter us.
So Ally has to abandon the caution which has made our team so hard to watch this season. Let's hope Sunday's poor show lulls the Arabs into a false sense of security and we capitalise on their complacency before they can get their act together. Get right into them from the first whistle and the crowd will respond, Ibrox will be rocking probably for the first time since we saw off Motherwell.
As I see it, the best route to victory will be down the wings and I'd like to see the manager trust Calum Gallagher and Fraser Aird with the task of running at our opponents and whipping the ball into the middle. Young Robertson's form this season won him a recent call-up to the Scotland set-up but he has caught the eye going forward. How will he handle the pace and power of Gallagher pushing him back towards his own goal?
Neither Foster nor Smith covered themselves in glory at Easter Road - who did? - but, with Wallace likely to be out, they will probably get their chance to make amends. They must support the wide players, giving them the option of a pass or giving those they are facing food for thought. A run and cross at pace will cause havoc but we mustn't be too predictable. The full-backs offer an alternative and uncertainty causes defenders to make mistakes.
I'd like to see Dean Shiels and Nicky Clark team up through the middle, playing the game on the deck, turning the likes of Gunning. But hoping that lining up against his old club might bring something special out of Jon Daly, I suspect Ally will stick with the big Irishman. However, he needs support and, if he wins the heading duels, Shiels, Clark or Law must be positioned to cash in. There is no point in Daly providing the knock-downs if his partner is 20 or 30 yards away.
Ian Black surely owes us a big performance and, remembering his pathetic efforts at Tannadice a year ago, he has unfinished business with our weekend opponents. He was signed as some sort of midfield enforcer to sort out the opposition's main man (e.g. Jelavic) but in the third and fourth tier of Scottish football there are no recognised danger men. Black has become a target for the various hammer-throwers who, knowing his reputation, fancy adding to their own at his expense.
Games like Saturday's, however, could be tailor-made for Black. Ciftci might be in need of some special attention. Playing in front of Mohsni and McCulloch he can offer them some much-needed protection or he might need to keep a watchful eye on Mackay-Steven or Gauld. Lets see if these promising prospects are ready to play in the big boys playground.
Chatting about this in the pub, it is clear most Bears are worried sick about what the Arabs might do to us. We really should have them worrying about playing in front of a packed crowd at Ibrox against a Rangers team on a mission. If we adopt the same up-and-at-'em approach which Motherwell found too hot too handle, there is every chance Thompson and the 10,000 Rangers-hating glory-hunters will be heading home with heavy hearts.
We know how that feels. If we have to lose this semi-final - and I don't for a second believe it is a foregone conclusion - I want us to go out having a go, getting each and every Bear out of his seat, with every player giving his all, returning to the dressing-room at the end of the afternoon totally drained, perfectly content to look at himself in the mirror, knowing he has done everything possible to take the Rangers through to the Scottish Cup Final.
How much do you want it, guys?