Rangers will not give Celtic a guard of honour on Sunday due to the lack of respect between the clubs, according to Kris Boyd.
Celtic travel to Ibrox for the final derby of the season as champions after clinching a fourth successive Scottish Premiership title – and their 13th in the past 14 years – with a 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice last weekend which has left them 17 points ahead of their Glasgow rivals with four matches remaining.
It is customary for clubs who secure the title before the end of the season to be applauded onto the field by the opposition as a mark of respect. Inverness Caledonian Thistle, for example, afforded League One champions Arbroath a guard of honour on Saturday before their clash in the Highlands.
However, both Celtic and Rangers have blanked the tradition in recent times and former Rangers striker Boyd reckons there is “absolutely no chance” of the pre-match gesture being made by Barry Ferguson’s players towards their Old Firm counterparts ahead of Sunday’s lunchtime showdown.
There won’t be any guard of honour,” Boyd told Sky Sports as he laughed off the suggestion.
“Scotland is a pretty unique place. I think for both teams the respect went out the window a few years ago. Celtic can’t even refer to it as the Old Firm. The respect that used to be in the boardrooms, I don’t think it’s there any more. I can’t imagine Rangers players clapping Celtic players onto the pitch on Sunday.
There should still be respect there from both clubs but there is so many problems in the past that there is absolutely no chance of a guard of honour on Sunday.”
Despite their dominance over Rangers in the trophy stakes this season, it is Celtic who are bidding to avoid a third straight defeat in the fixture after a 3-0 loss at Ibrox on January 2 was followed by a 3-2 reverse at Parkhead last month.
I’m looking forward to the game,” Boyd added. “For Scottish football it is a great spectacle. There will be some Celtic fans back in the ground, which is great to see. I don’t think it will ever get back to what it was.
“Celtic will want to come to Ibrox and show why they are champions by putting on a performance. For Rangers and Barry Ferguson, very disappointed at the weekend, and there are a lot of players fighting for their future because there will be changes at Ibrox in the summer.
If they want to be part of something going forward then they are going to have to perform between now and the end of the season. Maybe a lot players already know that they are surplus to requirements but it’s still an Old Firm game. You will want to put on a performance.”
