Police Scotland popped into Lennoxtown on Friday for a quick word before Sunday’s trip to Ibrox – and Martin O’Neill, for one, wasn’t complaining about the timing.
Police Scotland visited Celtic on Friday ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sport Cup quarter-final against Rangers, delivering what O’Neill called a timely reminder about the club’s general behaviour, according to BBC Sport. Given what unfolded the last time these two clubs met in a cup quarter-final at that ground, nobody at Celtic Park should be remotely surprised the police wanted a conversation before this one.
The meeting itself was brief – around 15 minutes, by O’Neill’s own account – but the substance mattered more than the length. O’Neill explained that officers focused on behaviour in the round, with the manager himself volunteering that on-field flashpoints, from punch-ups to excessive celebrations, are exactly the sort of thing that can escalate matters further given recent history between the two clubs. He was careful to note the police hadn’t specifically raised the pitch itself, but his own reading of the room seems sound enough.
That history isn’t ancient. Both Glasgow clubs were ordered last month to play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors after last season’s Ibrox quarter-final – won by Celtic on penalties – descended into disorder. This will be Celtic’s first return to Ibrox since, though it’s worth remembering the sides did meet there in a league fixture in May, when Celtic won 3-1. There will be no away fans at any Old Firm league or League Cup fixture this season, a decision from the SPFL that shapes the entire complexion of Sunday’s occasion.
Form and the fixture itself
On the pitch, Celtic go into this one with genuine momentum: three straight derby wins since Rangers’ 3-1 league victory at Celtic Park back in January, and five points clear at the top of the Premiership after six games. O’Neill admitted it will feel strange not having any away support inside Ibrox, noting he’d always found a bit of comfort in that travelling backing – the restricted allocation situation has been a talking point all week.
Rangers arrive on a run of four straight wins despite early-season criticism of Derek McInnes, and O’Neill knows exactly what kind of atmosphere his side will be walking into. Nervously and excitedly looking forward to it, as he put it – that sounds about right for anyone who’s followed this fixture long enough to know it rarely goes to script.
Mon the Hoops.
