Willie Collum says he is achieving every Scottish referee's ambition by taking charge of Sunday's meeting between Celtic and Rangers.
The 31-year-old will referee his first ever Old Firm derby as the teams go head to head at Celtic Park.
He says he is as prepared as he possibly can be for the challenge that awaits him.
"For every referee in Scotland I think it's their ambition to referee an Old Firm match," Collum told BBC Scotland.
"There are always more nerves than usual when you take on a match for the first time - whether it's the Old Firm derby or the Edinburgh derby - but I'm really looking forward to it.
"I think everybody would look forward to refereeing a match like this."
Collum is not unused to big occasions, of course. On Wednesday night he officiated at Schalke's Champions League match against Hapoel Tel-Aviv, and he admits being involved in that kind of game can only help when it comes to Sunday's fixture.
"Obviously the experience of the Champions League and top matches in Scotland has built me up well for this," he added.
Collum was speaking to BBC Scotland, having just undergone a series of fitness tests alongside Scotland's other Fifa referees, some of whom have prior experience of being centre-stage at Old Firm derbies.
And he said he intended to listen to any advice they had to offer.
"I'll have a meeting with Hugh (Dallas, the SFA's head of referee development). He'll talk to me, run through things," he added.
Willie Collum is refereeing in the Champions League, so I don't see the Old Firm game causing him any difficulties at all
Hugh Dallas, SFA's head of referee development
"And other guys like Dougie McDonald and Craig Thomson, I'll speak to these guys to offer me some guidance and help."
Thomson was the man in charge of the first Old Firm game of last season, following which he admitted having made a mistake in not awarding Celtic a penalty for a foul by Davie Weir on Shaun Maloney.
And Collum knows his every decision will be under scrutiny on Sunday.
"It's about getting the big decisions right, but you enter every game feeling positive, feeling confident, being well prepared, and you hope in the end you get the big decisions right," he went on.
"These are the important things we're judged on and we prepare the whole week, the whole season in trying to make sure we get these decisions correct."
And he emphasised the role the players have in ensuring the match passes off without incident.
"I think we need to realise we're both in this together, the players and the officials. We need to work together, we need to talk to each other, we need to help each other," he added.
"I'll certainly look for the players to help me, just as I'm sure they'll look for me to help them."
That was a point also underlined by Hugh Dallas, who nonetheless believes Collum has all the necessary attribute to make a success of the role.
"He's one of our top referees now. He's one of the top referees in Europe now, albeit he's still very young," Dallas told BBC Scotland.
"He's picked up a lot of experience along the way, he's refereeing the top games, and we think he's ready now for the ultimate test, which is the Glasgow derby, which I'm sure he'll relish and he'll meet head on.
"We gradually test our referees with big matches before they referee an Old Firm game. They'll referee the Edinburgh derby, the Old Firm in Edinburgh, the Old Firm in Aberdeen.
"These are always tough matches, before we think we should test them in an Old Firm game, but Willie Collum is refereeing in the Champions League, so I don't see the Old Firm game causing him any difficulties at all."
But Dallas did concede that no matter how competent a referee is, he also needs an element of luck to come out of the game with credit.
"It's the one decision that can maybe turn the game. That's the one that everybody knows he needs to get right," Dallas continued.
"He's a very fit lad, he's well educated, he knows how to communicate and I expect Willie to get everything right next Sunday."
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