The photographs on the wall are only a small sample of his myriad adventures in the game.Terry Butcher is a witness to football history. He watched it unfold on the field and from the dug-out. He helped shape it.It’s hard to believe that he nearly gave the game up while coming through at Ipswich and had to be talked out of quitting for a course at Trent Polytechnic.Sir Bobby Robson once said that he had to coach him into being angry in his formative years at Portman Road. It’s fair to say he succeeded.Butcher won the 1981 UEFA Cup, the highlight of the glory days for the Suffolk side.He played in three World Cups for England, winning 77 caps. He was unable to prevent Diego Maradona slaloming through his side in Mexico and was powerless as Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle erred from the spot four years later against West Germany in Turin. The image of England skipper Terry Butcher in a blood-soaked shirt has become iconic Butcher holds aloft the championship trophy after a win over Dunfermline at Ibrox in 1990 Butcher enjoyed returning to Ibrox as a manager and being the underdog against Walter SmithThere’s that iconic image of him soaked in blood with those mad glaring eyes after having his forehead burst open in a game against Sweden. Brave as they come.At Rangers in 1986, Graeme Souness immediately handed him the armband. A year later, Butcher lifted the first title in nine years and would go on to lay the foundations for the Ibrox club’s own nine-in-a-row. Heaven could only help the dressing room doors when matters went awry.He took charge at Motherwell just as the administrators turned up. He ensured the Steelmen survived to play a starring role in Helicopter Sunday.There were spells in Sydney, Brentford and with George Burley’s Scotland when the phrase Boozegate was coined.He found a home in Inverness, taking the club back to the top flight via regular detours in Auchterarder for fish and chips.He now knows he should never have left there for Hibs where he was sacked after relegation in 2014, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.He’s only glad that he feels comfortable ambling down memory lane again, recalling the countless triumphs and near misses with smiles and grimaces. Because there was a time when it all meant nothing to him.Butcher’s son, Christopher, was a captain with the Royal Artillery. Another natural leader, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was back in his parents’ house when his life ended in October 2017 after suffering from PTSD.’When you lose your son like that in the manner that it happened, it hits you right between the eyes,’ Butcher recalls.’Everything that’s gone before, including Rangers and Ipswich and England, it doesn’t matter at all.’I didn’t have any purpose in life. I was just plodding along.’Football had gone obviously. I didn’t know what I was going to do.’The tragedy was sensitively told in Butcher: Invisible Wounds, a documentary which gave a moving account of an extraordinary life in football and a family’s struggle since that darkest of days.While the production pulls no punches, it details how Butcher regained a sense of purpose by becoming patron of Combat2Coffee, a social enterprise which supports veterans and those who’ve lost loved ones by simply meeting up and talking about things over a cuppa.A kind and compassionate man, Butcher is the perfect fit to be the organisation’s public face.’There was no one there for us so that was a big space to fill,’ he added.’Combat2Coffee helped me enormously. It’s helped us to talk about him.’We did it because we wanted it to do well. It was a really powerful film, but it had a great message. We tried to finish on hope as there’s hope for the future now. We want to try and help that along.’Butcher has also been at the forefront of Medals2Matches, the brainchild of Combat2Coffee founder Nigel Seaman.Originally rolled out at Ipswich Town, the initiative sees military personnel attend football matches with their medals displayed.Last November, Rangers became the first Scottish club to host such an event which seeks to create a social connection and mental health support for veterans and those currently in the forces.’There’s a little bit on the documentary where (wife) Rita is saying ‘I’ll get the medals out because Terry doesn’t want to show his medals’,’ said Butcher.’And I don’t. Having come into the veteran community, you get Remembrance Sunday and the veterans don’t want to come out with their medals.’They feel very humble that they’ve got them. So, when we do Medals2Matches, which was the last time I was at Rangers, the club was brilliant.’They were encouraging them to wear their medals at the game and be proud of it.’Yes, I am proud of my medals and I love to just have a quick look at them.’They are there as a reminder, they are there for my family.’It’s lovely, but I don’t bang on about it all the time and I don’t really want to wear my medals when it comes to football games as you’d stand out.’Mind you, I’m six foot four, so I’d stand out anyway.’It should feel uncomfortable switching our conversation to football, but it does not.Four decades on from setting foot in Ibrox, Butcher is heading back up next month for an audience with fans where no subject – serious or trivial – will be off limits.’It’s a really special place,’ he said.’Forty years ago, there was a bit of trepidation as I boarded a flight to get up there.’I knew one or two people back here … Allan Hunter, my centre-half partner, was a big Rangers fan and so was Johnny Wark.’They told me all about the club, but nothing prepares you for actually walking through those doors.’While Souness’ arrival from Sampdoria had the world sitting up and taking notice of Scottish football, it was the arrival of the likes of Butcher which turbo-charged the revolution.’Graeme did say ‘we’ve signed the England captain’ but I hadn’t been captain up to that point,’ Butcher smiled.’I sort of let that one go. But it felt like a natural progression for me because I’d been captain of the team that I’d supported as a boy.’It didn’t start well. Rangers lost their opening league game at Easter Road (in which Souness was sent off) and also the following weekend at home to Dundee United.By May, though, they were celebrating their first title since 1978 as Butcher’s header at Aberdeen secured a point.It’s the memory of that season which gives him hope that he’ll witness the same outcome next year.’We didn’t have a good start, but you think the more the lads play together the better it will be. I think that will be the case,’ he stated.’With Derek (McInnes) coming in, hopefully it’s like a breath of fresh air through the club.’It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.’He understands supporters’ concerns about Manny Fernandez’s occasional lapses in concentration but likes what he sees in the defender.’There’s no similarity with me because I wasn’t quick, so don’t worry about that,’ he smiled.’Look at Mark Hateley when he first came to the club. He had a very difficult few months too and a lot of people were saying it was a waste of money.’It will be a big test of character for Manny, because he’ll now understand a little bit more of what’s expected.’I’m sure he will get better. He’s got the attributes and it’s just the players around him that he needs possibly help from, some support.’Back in the day, Butcher heard all the talk that he was joining a pub league. It was, of course, nothing of the sort.He believes many of those who have recently followed his path will already have realised this to be fact.’It just hits you right between the eyes, it really does,’ he said.’When you pull that jersey on, some players might think, ‘I’ve made it now, I’m playing for Glasgow Rangers’.’But you can’t think like that. You’ve just got to think that these teams we’re facing are going to be really up for it. And they will be.’You’ve seen that already this season with the likes of Hibs going to Ibrox and winning.’It’s not about individuals when you play for Rangers and Celtic. You’ve got to stick together as a team.’Considering his experience, his history with Rangers and the success he enjoyed on a shoestring at Motherwell and Inverness, it’s curious that Butcher has never been mentioned even in passing as a possible managerial candidate.Heaven knows, men of far less standing have walked up the marble staircase this century.’No, I never thought that at all,’ he insisted.’I enjoyed my time at Rangers, but I love being the underdog.’Every time we won at Ibrox with either Motherwell or Inverness, I went in and apologised to Walter (Smith). But I had to do my job. I had two great clubs. I really enjoyed it.’And he is enjoying it again. The glint in the eye has returned. You can’t keep a good man down.*Tickets for An Evening with Terry Butcher at Edmiston House on Friday September 4 are available from www.edmistonhouse.co.uk