For someone who filled such a huge space in the hearts of those lucky enough to grace the inside the Ibrox dressing room, it will be the small things that are missed most in the weeks to come as Rangers face up to Jimmy Bell’s sudden loss.
For James Tavernier, it will be the little battles he had to face anytime he wanted to break the legendary kitman’s strict superstition when it came the armband worn by the Rangers captain.
If the Light Blues won, the bold Jimmy would insist the skipper kept the same one on for the following week’s game.
Tavernier was happy to go along with Bell’s good luck charm - so long as the armband wasn’t looking to grubby. If not, he’d grit his teeth and hope to survive the inevitable verbal onslaught for daring to tempt fate.
Legend has it that such an arm wrestle played out ahead of last season’s League Cup clash at St Mirren when the skipper asked for a new strap to go along with the retro kit Gers would be wearing for the first time that December night.
The full-back got his wish but Bell’s fears proved prophetic as Gers crashed out to a last winner winner, with hopes of a treble to go along with their unbeaten league campaign popped in Paisley.
Bell didn’t hold grudges, though - certainly not with the players he grew so close to over 30 years inside Ibrox inner sanctum - and continued his other tradition of making sure he was the man to place the armband round Tavernier’s bicep in the final moments before kick-off right up until what turned out to be his final match at Celtic Park on Sunday.
He should be doing the same thing on Thursday as Rangers run out to face RB Leipzig for a place in the Europa League final but sadly, tragically, events have conspired to ensure a man who bled blue will not be there to see what could be a night for the ages at Ibrox.
Those two armband traditions are small examples of the little peculiarities that made the man the cherished figure he was.
Now as they embark on life without him, Tavernier admits the hardest times for Rangers will come with the realisation that those special moments are no more.
“That is a true story about the captain’s armband,” said Tavernier. “Unless it got too dirty, then we’d come to an agreement that I needed a new one.
“Some of these small details are going to be strange when Jimmy’s not there. They are the small things everyone had with him. He had something different with every player.
“That was one of mine. Before every game he’d put my captain’s armband on. It’s going to be strange, but I’m more determined to do everything in my power to make him proud.
“I loved Jimmy to bits. He was one of the first people that I came in to see when I first joined the club.
“I remember the first time I met him, I asked him for the No.2. He gave me some stick for even asking him.
“We have created such a special relationship over the years, so it is really hard to take.
“Even the boys who have even come in this season have created special relationships with Jimmy. He was the heart and soul of this place.
“But we have to focus on the game and try and put the best performance on and try and reach a final where he would obviously want to go.
“That is our aim. That is what he would want us to do.”
Officially, Bell’s job title may have suggested his duties were merely limited to those of a kitman and bus driver but to the Rangers squad, he was much more than that.
A confidant, a father figure, a source of endless stories laying out what it really meant to live and breathe under the unique pressures that come with life in the Old Firm.
He’d seen it all, from golden days spent alongside genuine giants of the game to harder times when Gers’ very existence was under threat.
Throughout it all, his companionship and affection for those he served in the dressing room was a constant - which makes his sudden passing aged 69 all the harder to bear.
Tavernier added: “It is obviously devastating for the club and everyone who knew Jimmy, especially his family.
“Yesterday was really difficult to take. We all took to our own to mourn Jimmy. People are still doing it now.
“But I know Jimmy wouldn’t want the fuss. He would want us to pull our socks up, roll our sleeves up and get stuck in tomorrow.
“That was him, the standards that he set.
“It is about getting together with the lads today, making sure we have a really good session, which I know we will.
“Come tomorrow everyone will be ready to go from the first whistle. We are going to do it for the club, do it for the fans and obviously do it for Jimmy.”
Rangers would have needed no extra motivation to turn over the 1-0 deficit from last week’s clash in Germany but the loss of Bell will add an extra ingredient into the Ibrox cauldron.
Emotion will wash round the stadium and it will be up to Leipzig to prove they can keep their head above water amid the tumult.
“I hope our atmosphere can affect them,” said the skipper. “You saw the Braga game when we got an early goal and that really kicked us on.
“We’d obviously like to replicate that with an early goal to really get after them. We have seen really good teams come to Ibrox and struggle sometimes. I hope that is the case tomorrow night.
“As a team, we just have to try to make it as hard as possible and do everything we can to make the right result and limit their chances. Because we obviously know they are going to be a threat.
“We just have to try and do everything possible.”
