SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP CELTIC v RANGERS:AS CELTIC and Rangers contemplated the implications of a scoreless league draw at Parkhead last month, supporters, for once, seemed united in their disenchantment. This had been, many argued, the worst Old Firm encounter in living memory and further proof, the critics added, of how low the pair had collectively sunk within the past decade. The Rangers goalkeeper, Allan McGregor, faced no meaningful action throughout the 90 minutes.
Tomorrow the teams can counter that argument, when they meet in the climax of the Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park. Cup finals between the Glasgow giants have been rare in recent times – four in the past two decades – but they will face each other with onlookers seeking a fitting finale even if the respective clubs have only winning in mind.
“Celtic supporters and players will tell you there has been many a dour cup final,” said Gordon Strachan, the manager. “You don’t remember that. You just remember the victory. That’s all that matters in history – which team wins the cup.”
Such sentiment is echoed at Rangers even if, according to David Weir, what has seemed to descend into a national vox-pop over the Old Firm’s demise was over the top.
“I think it has been created by the media, to be honest,” Weir said. “I think we kick ourselves at every opportunity. There is a lot of good stuff in Scottish football and people seem to concentrate on the negatives.”
Perhaps there has merely been little else to discuss. Twelve months ago, Celtic had competed in the last 16 of the Champions League for a second season in succession as their city rivals progressed to the Uefa Cup final. This year, early European exits have heightened despondency and sparked analysis over where things have apparently gone wrong.
“If you look at cup finals down the years, in both Scotland and England, there have been very few cracking ones,” warned Pat Nevin, the former Chelsea and Scotland winger.
“In fact, there have been quite a few dire finals. If that is the case this time, it will be used as another stick to beat the Scottish game with when, in reality, cup finals should be treated in isolation.”
The aesthetically pleasing aside, an interesting nuance of this final is that it will be Strachan and Walter Smith’s first against the other half of the Old Firm.
While that is partly understandable for Strachan, who arrived in Glasgow only in 2005, the fact Smith’s combined nine-year Ibrox tenure has never included a final with Celtic is a surprise.
Guardian Service
