MOBILISING an army of fans to make the long trek from the Shetland Isles to Govan is an expensive and complicated task.

But for the loyal band of Rangers supporters who make up the Shetland Glasgow Rangers Supporters Club it is a journey they enjoy setting out on.

The 450 men, women and children that constitute the largest registered supporters club in the world make the most of their opportunities to visit Ibrox.

At a cost of around £10,000 for a group of 45 to make the trip, for far flung fans it can match a European trip in terms of expense.

But for the group who made their way down to Glasgow for last weekend's meeting with Aberdeen it was a worthwhile trip.

After leaving Lerwick at 5pm on Thursday for a 12 hour boat trip to Aberdeen, they continued their travels by train from the granite city.

On arrival in Glasgow they reunited for a tour of Ibrox on Friday afternoon. Making their way into the trophy room, they paused for some interviews with the club's TV channel to the delight of club chairman Billy Johnson.

They were later joined for dinner in the Symon Suite by two Rangers legends. Mark Hateley and Bobby Russell's appearance made the evening for the visiting supporters.

Billy Johnson was keen to thank the two former players and Rangers Chairman David Murray whose signed letter expressed his best wishes for the Shetland fans.

But for young fan Michael Hill, the weekend was topped off by the chance to walk out of the tunnel and on to the Ibrox turf.

Michael, celebrating his 19th birthday on the day of the game was delighted to have the opportunity to hold the Saltire flag as part of the guard of honour that welcomes the players on to the pitch.

After some pre match nerves, Michael admits he enjoyed on the best birthday presents he could have hoped for.

The whole group were rewarded for their trip with a 3-1 win over Aberdeen, making for a happy journey back to the Shetlands that only ended at 7.30am on Monday morning.