So far ahead they could play anywhere – Hartson delivers blunt verdict on Celtic v Rangers clash
Former Celtic striker John Hartson has claimed that the decision by Rangers to massively cut the Hoops ticket allocation for Ibrox next season won’t stop the Hoops from winning at the home of their bitter rivals once more.
The Gers and the Hoops both released statements last weeks announcing that the number of away fans for the derby will be reduced from almost 8,000 to 800.
Hartson believes that the Hoops are so far front of their Glasgow rivals that it doesn’t matter how many fans they have in the stadium, they will still win the game.
“It won’t make a difference. There is no advantage to be had” he said, writing in his column in the Evening Times.
“Celtic are so far ahead of Rangers that they could play this game anywhere and at anytime and there would one winner.
“Rangers might think they are pulling a sly one here but good players, and Celtic have plenty of them, won’t let it affect them.”
The Hoops have won their last four visits to Ibrox, an unprecedented run of wins at the home of their biggest rivals.
Football Insider verdict
Hoops fans will love Hartson’s comments, as they are full of the bravado you would expect from a former Celtic player. The reason for the reduced allocation seems to be to stop the Hoops from winning so often at Ibrox. But as Hartson says, this Hoops team is good enough to win there with very little support. The atmosphere at the game will certainly change but that won’t faze this battle-heartened Hoops side, who have played the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich in recent years. The biggest problem with the ticket news could be what the police make of it, as they will no doubt want to be involved in making sure that there are no problems between both sets of fans. Aside from that, the away side could be fired up even more, to pull off a memorable victory for their extremely outnumbered fans, who would no doubt celebrate long and loud.
In other Celtic news, a Hoops player is confident he can deal with the pressure
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