His £5.5million move from Fiorentina was a Scottish transfer record of the time and underlined the mighty intent of Rangers in erasing the blip that was Wim Jansen's title season at Celtic by means of David Murray's massive financial and personal backing for new manager Dick Advocaat.

If Kanchelskis' fee suggested he did not come cheap, his wages - £1m a year - confirmed it.

And so it upped the stakes of Old Firm supremacy in Scotland, with the Kanchelskis transfer fee soon surpassed by Celtic's payout for John Hartson, then doubled spectacularly in November 2000 by Rangers' purchase of Tore Andre Flo.

But whether you believe Kanchelskis to be a mercenary element who assisted in accelerating the financial crumble of the Scottish game, or a player all about figures rather than functions, he departs feeling bitter about a silver stash that carries no monetary value.

It is one that he feels should have been his to treasure and for all Ibrox followers to enjoy and share in.

Kanchelskis believes Celtic were handed their glory last season by the mismanagement of Advocaat. He insists the failure to dispense with the Dutchman cost Rangers the SPL title this term.

Furthermore, he blames the former manager for halting his own progress during the first two encouraging European years.

In turning on Advocaat, Kanchelskis fires at the Dutch national coach parting shots on professional ways and personal manners that he believes strike a chord with those involved in the collapse of what appeared an imperious regime and will alarm fans who witnessed its demise.

'Maybe Advocaat should work, not with Rangers or the Dutch team, but with 15-year-old children,' said Kanchelskis. 'I felt at times he paid more attention to the colour of the socks, or being a minute late for lunch, than the training practice.

'Maybe it's important to set up rules like that among children, but I am a professional and know the importance of discipline.'

Yet it was not, according to Kanchelskis, the disciplinary regime which precipitated Advocaat's resultant resignation and led to the appointment of Alex McLeish.

His rules had been respected but, according to Kanchelskis, Rangers were destroyed by tactics which led to the erosion of spirit within the club and the sale of valuable and popular members of that group.

Advocaat's relationship with crowd hero Jorg Albertz, he says, was highlighted, unknown to the joyous fans, on one of finest nights abroad in his reign.

Rangers beat Advocaat's former club PSV Eindhoven 1-0, thanks to an Albertz goal, yet Kanchelskis felt that their joy was not shared by the boss.

'I'll never forget that night,' said Kanchelskis. 'Usually when teams score in the Champions League, their managers are very happy. Well, you should have seen Advocaat's face after Albertz got us the win. You'd want to cry if you had seen it. He was not displaying any delight.

'I believe that everyone is equal on the pitch - so it's wrong for the manager to display great happiness when one particular player scores, yet no emotion at all when another one scores.

'These examples were spreading and had a huge impact on the team's attitude. I felt that the spirit sank out of the side. We used to play like a winning team. But, as he sold players, he seemed to distrust ones that remained.

'It's an automatic process for spirit to then go and someone was doing the harm.'

Kanchelskis went on to accuse Advocaat of lacking everyday civility during his leadership of the team.

He claimed: 'I seldom saw the manager laugh or give a smile. It happened with others. Maybe he thinks that he's so great that it's beneath him to talk but he could at least have said hello as he walked past.

'I was taught at school to say hello. Maybe in Holland, it is different. I know that at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger insists during training that the only language is English. But there were some instances where Advocaat would speak Dutch with some of his staff during our training sessions.

'If we're talking about individual relationships with the Dutch guys, then it's good - but when one nationality is too much it's bad for balance. There should only be three play-ers from one country at a club.'

By the time Martin O'Neill had cleaned up the domestic honours in 2001-02, Kanchelskis was confident that Advocaat would be leaving the post of Rangers manager.

'When we went away in the summer after Celtic won the Treble, I expected to come back and for him not to be there,' he explained. 'If this had been Italy, Spain or Germany, then that would have been the case. So he got himself comfortable.

'He lost the championship and cup yet he was still in position. At the start of the season, I said that if Advocaat stayed, we'd lose the title. He was allowed to start and, by December, the title had been lost.'

For many, the image which summed up much of what was wrong at Ibrox was the unseemly sight of Advocaat brawling on the touchline with the substituted defender Michael Ball in the Old Firm game at Parkhead last November.

'That was most terrible,' said Kanchelskis. 'I've never seen a football manager fighting with a player. There must be something seriously wrong for that to happen.

'A top-class manager can't allow himself to do that. But just think that if he hadn't resigned, then Michael Ball might never have had the chance with Rangers.'

Kanchelskis, himself, was sent away from training by Advocaat in October 2000 for a spat with Fernando Ricksen, yet remains unhappy that only he was penalised for the incident.

At that time, Rangers were chasing O'Neill's runaway leaders and managed to beat them 5-1 at Ibrox. But Celtic stormed to the title and then Kanchelskis could only watch in despair as a procession of leading players was shipped out of the club.

'I believe Advocaat ruined the team during the last two years. In my opinion he's not a first-class manager,' said Kanchelskis. 'How could he allow Albertz, Tugay, Reyna, van Bronckhorst or Amato to be sold. Can you imagine Liverpool selling five top-class players?

'I remember a Press conference when I was asked if Rangers could achieve similar results to Manchester United. I said it was possible if we had a team that plays together for three or four years. Given that chance, we could have been great.

'But he started to sell and change. The results in Europe and the way we played were never the same again. In one season, we lost the lot. Maybe he had a bad dream, maybe he had a headache - but I cannot understand why those players were sold.'

Advocaat bowed out of front-line management after successfully taking Rangers beyond Christmas in Europe for the first time since 1993, handing over to McLeish in December - a move that Kanchelskis wishes had happened sooner.

He said: 'McLeish improved the situation in the team. He dragged Rangers up from a very low point. Winning two cups really helped us and the Rangers fans.

'It must be difficult for him to come from a smaller club. There's some difference between Hibs and Rangers - more pressure - but a better class of footballer. He needs to be given time to adjust.

'But I really hope he succeeds. I think the most important thing is to win the league and earn the right to play Champions League. Whether or not Rangers can do that under McLeish depends on the atmosphere of the team, because that has an impact on the confidence of the players.