MIDFIELD dynamo David Thompson paid a glowing tribute to his manager Graeme Souness after the Rovers boss led by example during last night's 'Battle of Britain' with Celtic.

The home fans in a whopping crowd of 59,553 tried to make Parkhead seem as intimidating as possible in an attempt to give their team every possible advantage.

But Souness took the heat off his players by deliberately making himself the target for all the vitriol from the stands which allowed Thompson and Co to focus on their jobs on the pitch.

"He's brilliant and I would happily play for Graeme Souness for nothing," said Thompson, as he reflected on Rovers' 1-0 defeat.

"It's a privilege playing for him, to be honest. It's just fantastic.

"He's got big shoulders because he's been used to that kind of stick throughout his career.

"So it's nothing new to him and, because he can handle it so well, he takes all the pressure of us.

"All the young lads can learn off the gaffer. At the end of the day, he's got three European Cup winners' medals so he must have done alright, musn't he?"

Souness's bravado before and during the game was a key factor in eliminating any of the butterflies his young players might have been feeling going into this second round first leg.

When the team bus pulled up outside the ground an hour or so before kick-off, for instance, a mob of 300 or so Celtic fans had gathered with the soul intention of hurling abuse in a bid to psyche out the visitors.

Typically, Souness chose to confront his detractors head on by making sure he was the first off the bus and he then seized the psychological initiative by striding purposefully into the middle of the circle, his chest puffed out in dignified defiance.

And that's not where the mind games stopped, either. During a brief lull in proceedings in an otherwise gripping first half, the 3,000 or so Rovers fans who were herded away in a corner suddenly launched into a rousing rendition of 'There's only one Graeme Souness.'

He responded in the only way he knows how, marching to the edge of his technical area where he vigorously clapped his hands above his head in an act designed to provoke the wrath of the home supporters.

So with the manager prepared to lead the fight off the pitch, Rovers had little choice but to match that passionate and commitment on it.

And for 85 minutes it worked like a dream until Henrik Larsson pounced on a lapse of concentration at the back to give Celtic the slendest of first leg advantages.

"It was a great atmosphere and one hell of a game to play in but it's just unfortunate that we did lose after playing ever so well," added Thompson.

"This was one of our best performances of the season and the manager was very pleased with us after the game.

"We've got home advantage and I think we are more than capable of scoring two goals at home. We'll all be fired up."

Picture special of the Rovers v Celtic clash... click here.