He has started only six of them and come off the bench in another two.

In other words, he has not made it on to the pitch in half of the Old Firm games played during his Rangers career. Of his record haul of 160 SPL goals, 159 of them came against teams other than Celtic.

The widespread perception that Boyd is marginalised in Old Firm games is not entirely true. Today he will start against Celtic for the third consecutive derby – “to be fair, I don’t think the manager has a decision to make on that one,” said a smiling Steven Davis – although it is certainly accurate to say he has never really frightened the Parkhead club before now.

His only goal against Celtic, for either Kilmarnock or Rangers, came in a 2-0 victory at Ibrox in May, 2007, and there have been occasions since then when his usually nerveless finishing deserted him when he was one-on-one against goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Yet Boyd goes into today’s match looking more impressive and capable than ever. The five goals he scored against Dundee United on Wednesday night, and the 11 he managed in December as a whole, were rewards for the improved fitness and focus he has shown the Rangers management in the last few months.

Boyd could have felt hugely confident of an overdue goal against Celtic were it not for the absence of his accomplice, Kenny Miller. The SFA confirmed that Miller will begin a two-game suspension after an unsuccessful appeal against his straight red card for violent conduct against United’s Darren Dods.

Given that his team has gorged on 26 goals in the last six league games Smith will want to minimise the disruption to a 4-4-2 formation which has clicked.

Assuming he does not revert to 4-5-1, which would not suit even the new, improved Boyd, Kyle Lafferty or, more probably, Nacho Novo could take Miller’s place.

For once Boyd need not fret over his own place in the derby. “He is one of the most lethal finishers I’ve played with,” said Davis, who has been a team-mate of Kevin Phillips, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Milan Baros, among others. “He guarantees you at least 20 goals every season, or beyond that. He is continuing to score goals as well as do the other side of the game.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it in the English Premier League. Goalscorers are hard to come by and Boydy is one of the best in the business. But hopefully he can get a contract extension here [his current deal runs out in May]. All the boys want to keep the squad together and Boydy is a massive player for us.

“Kenny’s suspension is a massive blow. But it gives someone else the chance to come in and prove their worth to the manager.

“We are creating a lot of chances and Boydy, Kenny and Nacho have been putting them away. It’s great that we are spreading the goals about the team.”

Oddly, Davis himself has not scored for almost eight months, since finding the net in Rangers’ 1-0 win over Celtic in May. That was the goal which swung the title race their way: it moved them two points clear with only three games left.

“As far as I was concerned it was the most vital goal I’ve scored in my career,” he said. “I had to barge Boydy out of the way to get to it, right enough.”