Northern Ireland's Lee Hodson heading back to Ibrox for Scottish Cup clash against Rangers

Hodson is currently on loan at Championship outfit Partick Thistle, who have landed a dream last-16 tie away to defending champions Rangers.

The 31-year-old is familiar with the famous surroundings after spending two seasons in the top flight with the Glasgow club between 2016 and 2018, making 27 appearances in all competitions and scoring one memorable league goal against Aberdeen.

Partick are chasing Premiership promotion – currently sitting fourth in the table – but are the biggest underdogs of the weekend against a Rangers side still unbeaten under Michael Beale.

Darvel proved anything is possible in cup football with their heroics and now Hodson is looking to cause a shock against their city neighbours.

"You always want to have a good cup run,” he said. “It benefits the club financially when you have a good run and gives the fans a good away day too.

"There's a bit of everything there and it's going to be a great experience.

"You never know what can happen in a one off cup game.

"This is what it's all about as a footballer. You want to go to the big stadiums, play against the best and the big teams and test yourself against the best.

"It's an opportunity for everybody to go there and show what we can do as a collective and what we're about as a club."

Hodson joined Rangers for an undisclosed fee just days after being involved in Northern Ireland’s squad at an unforgettable Euro 2016.

It was a magical experience for the defender, who admits he still follows all of their matches after developing “a soft spot” for the club.

"It's a great place,” he added. "I still watch all their games and speak to a few of the lads that were there when I was and keep in touch with the staff that were there.

"It's a great club and it's a great place to play your football whether you're playing for Rangers or going there as an opponent.

"The fans are great. When I was there, it was a real honour to play for Rangers Football Club.

"You know when signing there the pressure that you're under to win games. You're expected to win every week and for a club like Rangers, you should.

"It was a fantastic experience and an honour. Once you leave there you always have a soft spot for the club after and I've followed them.

"I gave some of them a text to congratulate them when they won the league and that was a great achievement."

Hodson was handed his international debut by Nigel Worthington in a 2010 friendly against Morocco, one month after his 19th birthday.

From marking Cristiano Ronaldo (who scored a hat-trick and picked up a second Ballon d’Or a few months later) at Windsor Park to taking on the might of Germany twice, Hodson has loved every international experience.

The last of his 24 caps came in a 3-0 friendly defeat to Costa Rica in June 2018.

Eighteen of them were handed to him by Michael O’Neill and Hodson has full confidence that the 53-year-old will be a massive success again after taking over the country for a second time.

"Michael is fantastic,” he said. “He came in and trusted me.

"I was in a lot of his squads during the time Michael was there so I'm thankful for what he did for me.

"He took me to Euro 2016 which was a massive achievement for me and an opportunity of a lifetime.

"He's someone that all of the squad think highly of and the fans were over the moon to see him come back too.

"It's great for Northern Irish football for him to come back and he knows the lads very well.

"I'm sure he will make that connection he had before and he'll start in March where he left off. I'd love to see Northern Ireland make another major competition."

Despite not getting off the bench in France, memories of the tournament will always live with Hodson, including the summer anthem that was ‘Will Grigg’s on fire’ and Gareth McAuley’s famous winner against Ukraine.

It was about more than just himself and his own ambitions, though – it allowed his grandmother, who was born in Belfast (which gave Hodson the opportunity to play for Northern Ireland) to beam with pride about her grandson’s achievements.

"It was the first time in 30 years that we had made a major tournament and when I found out that I had made the squad, it was a dream come true,” he reflected. “Growing up, I dreamed of going to a major tournament and to achieve that for me personally and for my family was great.

"My little nan, who sadly passed away not long ago, was born in Belfast.

"So for her to see me get to go to a major tournament with Northern Ireland was massive.

"It's an honour to represent Northern Ireland and the fans out there were fantastic.

"You'd walk out to look at the pitch and the fans in the corner were already signing 'Will Grigg's on fire'!

"It was fantastic.

"The homecoming we got when we arrived back and the presentation down at Titanic Quarter was brilliant. The amount of people that came out is something I will never forget."