able to attract the cream of English clubs' talent. The first of many international players arrived in the shape of Chris Woods, followed by the likes of England deputy captain Terry Butcher and former Manchester United defender Jimmy Nicholl. The 1986–87 season was the first time in eight seasons that Rangers finished top of the Scottish Premier Division. However, the season began eventfully with player-manager Souness being sent-off in the first league match of the season. A foul on Hibernian's George McCluskey meant Souness had to watch the 2–1 defeat from the stands. But thirty-one wins, seven draws and five defeats later, Rangers were the champions. The league crown was not Souness' only trophy that season, however, for a 2–1 win over Celtic gave them a 1986 Scottish League Cup Final win. That same season, goalkeeper Chris Woods set the then British football clean sheet record of 1,196 minutes: from 26 November 1986, when he conceded a goal in a UEFA Cup 1–1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach until fourteen games later, on 30 January 1987, when Adrian Sprott of Hamilton Academical knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup by a single goal. The following season, Rangers could not build on the success of the previous campaign, despite the arrivals of Trevor Francis, Ray Wilkins, Mark Walters, Mark Falco, John Brown and Richard Gough, who became Scotland's first £1 million player. The title defence began with three points from the first ten. That, added to injuries and suspensions, meant the club finished third, twelve points behind champions Celtic. There was League Cup Final victory over Aberdeen, however, and a run in the European Cup with Dynamo Kyiv and Górnik Zabrze as scalps. The Scottish Cup ended in the fourth round at the hands of Dunfermline Athletic. The 1988–89 season was to start what would be one of the most successful spells in Rangers' history. When Souness' side regained the league championship by a margin of six points from second-placed Aberdeen, it became the first of nine. The club had again invested heavily in the playing staff, and again the club imported players from English sides, with Gary Stevens joining from Everton and Kevin Drinkell from Norwich City. The team was unbeaten in all competitions in August and September, including a 5–1 victory over Celtic at Ibrox. Rangers collected fifty-six points from thirty-six games, twenty-six of which were victories. The League Cup