season to the Scottish First Division, with their final match being a 2–0 win against Forfar Athletic at New Kilbowie Park, in which Cooper scored the opening goal from a penalty. Cooper played in all of Clydebank's 49 games that season, scoring 22 goals. Clydebank received a transfer bid of £65,000 from Aston Villa (under the management of Ron Saunders) for Cooper's services, with Villa offering Cooper a salary more than treble what he was receiving as a Bankie. Despite this, the offer was brushed aside by Cooper and Clydebank, with the hopes of continued success going into the new division. The following season found Clydebank to be a strong force in the 1976–77 Scottish First Division. They regularly battled for supremacy with a talented St Mirren side, at that point under the management of a young Alex Ferguson. The team achieved some remarkable results, including a 6–0 away win to East Fife on 4 December 1976 and an unprecedented 8–1 home victory against Arbroath on 3 January 1977, during which Cooper scored another hat-trick for the side. With the help of Cooper's talent, the club recorded a run of seventeen matches without defeat between December 1975 and October 1976. A major opportunity was presented to Cooper when Clydebank were drawn against his boyhood club Rangers in the quarter-final of the Scottish League Cup in September 1976. Rangers, under the management of Jock Wallace, had secured the Scottish treble the previous season and were looking for young, creative players to add to their ranks. The first leg took place at Ibrox on 22 September 1976. Throughout the match, Clydebank and Cooper proved to be tricky opponents. Around two minutes in, defender John Greig tackled Cooper and said: "If I get another chance, I'll break your leg." The Clydebank side held their own and recorded a 3–3 draw with Rangers, with Cooper scoring the side's crucial equaliser in the 78th minute. The return leg match was held at Kilbowie Park on 6 October 1976. This time, Greig opened the scoring for the away side in the 43rd minute. Cooper levelled the scoring in the 60th minute and the game finished 1–1. A third meeting to decide the winner took place on 18 October 1976, which ended in a 0–0 draw. Finally, Rangers overcame the Clydebank team on 19 October 1976 at Firhill Stadium, the fourth meeting between the sides. Derek Parlane