Soccer:Rangers manager Walter Smith and his Celtic counterpart Neil Lennon gave predictably differing views on the final episode in the season's Old Firm rivalry, but both admitted they were glad to see the back of the fixture for this season, after seven meetings between the two sides.

The Hoops should have come out on top when they were awarded a late penalty after referee Craig Thomson ruled that Anthony Stokes was fouled in the box by Steven Davis, but goalkeeper Allan McGregor came to the rescue when he saved brilliantly from Georgios Samaras to keep the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title race wide open.

Asked for his view on the spot-kick, Smith said: "It's not a penalty kick. But they got it and Allan McGregor saved it and Celtic will be happy now because their whole campaign this season has been the fact they have been asking for decisions.

"Well, they got one today and Allan McGregor saved it. That's it. The whole of the season, all we have heard is that Celtic don't get penalty kicks. They got one today and they tried to get another one as well and both of them were exactly the same in my mind - both of the players ran into the players and they weren't penalties."

When told of Smith's comments, Celtic boss Neil Lennon said: "It is nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

"Have they not had penalties against us this season, one where the referee wasn't even looking at it? Eh? Where is his argument there? It looked a penalty to me.

"People are telling me it is soft but I think the one with (Joe) Ledley in the first half could have been one, and the second one with (Anthony) Stokes, they are telling me there was contact although he did go down a bit dramatically."

The build-up to the seventh Old Firm game of the season had centred around the parcel bomb which was sent to Lennon and which had resulted in security around the Irishman tightened. The atmosphere was less poisonous than normal but Rangers fans raged when Lennon cupped his ears to supporters in the main stand as he went up the tunnel at the end of the game.

However, when the gesture was mentioned, he replied sharply: "Don't ask me about that. It's called humour, all right. Don't distract away from my team's performance. Don't even write about it. You have the photographs I'm sure but it is just a bit of fun. I don't want to distract from my team's performance. They were men. Real men, stood up to everything that Rangers threw at them and came back for more."

When asked if some fans might not see it as humour, the former Celtic skipper retorted: "That's their problem. It's only a bit of fun. Don't ask me about it again."

Lennon admitted he had enough of Old Firm games this season but was reluctant to claim his side now had the advantage in the title race.

"I am glad the Old Firm scenario is out of the way and we don't have to go through all the hype that surrounds it," he said. "That's seven, plenty for one season. So on the balance of the seven games we have proved we are more than a match for Rangers, if not better, whether they go on to win the league or not.

"People called this a pivotal game but I didn't see it that way. It gave us a slight advantage going into the remaining five games, one of which is the game in hand which we need to get a positive result from. I was apprehensive about the game but I was very pleased with my team. I am very proud of them."

The Celtic boss had no problem with Samaras' penalty miss.

The Greece striker had scored from the spot at Ibrox at the start of the year but McGregor guessed right this time, diving to his left to push a well-struck penalty round the post.

"My only complaint is that he put it the same side as he did the last time," said Lennon. "To be fair to Allan, it was a fantastic save and he made another great save from (Daniel) Majstorovic as well. So sometimes you have to tip your hat to the goalkeeper. If it had been a poorly-struck penalty then I would have criticised him for it, but it wasn't, it was an excellent save.

"So we have no problem with Samaras, we wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for him earlier in the season."

On the result, Smith said: "It puts Celtic in a position that we would want to be in. I think anybody would want to be in that position. You still have to close it out and win your games and we have to continue to win our matches and see what happens.

"There have been points dropped in the last half-dozen games or so over the last few seasons. So we just have to wait and see what happens in that respect."

On the build-up to the game, Smith said: "This year, it has reached a level that is obviously unacceptable. But, when you look at the games we have had this season, there has maybe been a couple of incidents in two of them. If you watch football over Britain, there are similar incidents that take place nearly every weekend. But, with Rangers and Celtic, they get blown up.

"If you look at the game today, I can argue about penalty kicks but the game was played in a competitive and decent spirit, as have the majority of matches that we have had this season.

"They will go on - but I won't be here. I'm delighted about that."