IT is a day that those who were there will never forget, yet one that those who weren't will always remember.

On January 2, 1971, 66 Rangers fans were killed in the Ibrox Disaster. Now, 50 years on, it is time to commemorate Absent Friends once again.

Over four days next week, these pages will recall stories from those that survived and pay tribute to those that died. Reliving the tale will be painful and emotional for many, but it will perhaps offer insight and understanding to a generation of supporters who simply don't know enough about the darkest day in Scottish football history.

The accounts from fans and first aiders are chilling and make for difficult reading as they speak of fearing for their lives while others around them lost theirs in the crush on Stairway 13 following a 1-1 draw in the Old Firm derby.

There is also the recollections of Derek Johnstone, then just a 17-year-old striker starting out on the road to legendary status.

Just months before the Disaster, DJ had scored the winner against Celtic in the League Cup final at Hampden.

But he would find himself confronted with the sight of body bags in the home dressing room in the minutes after the Ibrox stalemate.

In the days that followed, he carried out his duties to the club and visited hospitals and attended funerals alongside his team-mates as Rangers ensured they were represented at every gathering to pay tribute to those that went out to watch a football match and never returned home.

Working alongside DJ writing his column for the Glasgow Times was always a privilege rather than a chore and every base from Champions League nights to Share Issues were covered.

This was the first time the Ibrox Disaster had ever been spoken of, though. The pictures and newspaper reports give you a knowledge of what happened, but the first hand accounts make it real.

Time may have passed, but those scenes have never left Johnstone, nor have his memories of attending the funerals of the five lads from Markinch who tragically lost their lives on that fateful day.

Every personal account, every tale of survival or sorrow, will be unique and the feelings of loss are perhaps even more profound as we approach the 50th anniversary of the Disaster next week.

Until the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, the events at Ibrox were the biggest loss of life in a British stadium.

Ten years ago, the Hillsborough Ibrox Memorial Group was formed to remember the 66 - including eight-year-old Nigel Pickup from Liverpool - and the 96 that paid the ultimate price in support of their team and the red and blue banner will be on display next weekend.

At a time when supporters wish to come together to remember and commemorate, they are unfortunately forced to stay apart and the Coronavirus restrictions in place across the country will prevent Rangers marking the anniversary in the manner in which they wished to.

A floral wreath will be laid at the statue of John Greig that stands as tribute to the lost souls, while a minute's silence will be observed before Steven Gerrard's side face Celtic in the New Year derby.

As relatives and loved ones spend Christmas in isolation this year, it is a shame that the Rangers Family cannot be reunited at Ibrox and gather at the iconic stadium that was rebuilt as a result of the tragedy.

"The Ibrox Disaster was a very dark day in the club's history, and it is one we always make sure we commemorate and mark in a respectful manner," Stewart Robertson, the Rangers Managing Director, said at the AGM earlier this month.

"The 50th anniversary is a key milestone. We had plans for what we could do to try and commemorate, but unfortunately due to Covid, we are unable to do that just now.

"But it is the club's intention that we will do that as soon as we are able to do that. Once the restrictions are removed, we are looking at two or three events which we would look to hold which would be done in a tasteful and respectful manner.

"They have to be done with the families in mind and with the families being involved to the extent they want to be involved. This is about the families and about remembering those people who sadly didn't come home from a football match 50 years ago."

For those of more recent generations, the current Ibrox is all they have known. They would never stand on the vast terraces that could house six-figure crowds, never feel the sways and surges that accompanied celebration.

Most importantly, they have never felt in danger going in to or leaving Ibrox as they make their pilgrimage to their football shrine and cheer on their side from the stands.

Every fan will be aware of the Ibrox Disaster, however, and the deaths of their fellow supporters was not in vain as Rangers transformed the stadium. The historic arena that it is today stands as a tribute to those who never made it home in 1971.

Football really is nothing without the fans and those who have been fortunate enough to attend matches this term can readily subscribe to the theory.

The day when supporters are back at Ibrox cannot come quick enough. The next time they look around the stadium or walk by the Greig statue, they should be grateful at the safe environment in which they get to watch their football.

The Rangers Family will be reunited again soon. It will never forget the 66 as they raise a glass to Absent Friends.