Celtic should be 'thankful' for run, says McLeish
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Alex McLeish, the Rangers manager, has told Celtic to be "thankful" for their European adventure instead of complaining over the date the SDcottish Premier League has fixed for the final Old Firm game of the season.
The game has been scheduled for 27 April – two days after Celtic return from the second leg of their Uefa Cup semi-final against Boavista in Portugal. Ian McLeod, the Celtic chief executive, claimed his side will be "competitively disadvantaged" by the decision.
In contrast, the league leaders Rangers went out of the Uefa Cup at the first hurdle when they were defeated by the little-known Czech Republic side Viktoria Zizkov. And McLeish believes Celtic should be thankful that they have managed to progress so far in Europe this year.
"I hope that someday I can be in the same position, and that Rangers can be in the same position – that would be great, it would be fantastic," he said. "I'll be treating it like any other Old Firm game but there will be plenty of time to talk about that then."
McLeish's Celtic counterpart, Martin O'Neill, described the decision as "laughable", astonished that his side will be forced to play what could be a championship decider two days after the second leg of the Uefa Cup semi-final.
"I thought they might have changed the fixture and played it Friday morning," O'Neill said. "I was pretty relieved myself – the plane should be in by that time. I'm sure even Rangers could be embarrassed by this. People are talking about us being over the top by complaining, but talking of unsporting behaviour I suppose the SPL could fine themselves.
"Nothing surprises me in my time in football – it is an amazing decision. They want the season to be tight, close and exciting."
Asked whether he thought there was an increased likelihood of crowd trouble, O'Neill said: "There is always the possibility of these things happening. It can happen at any given Old Firm game. Thankfully it hasn't happened recently.
"This is laughable. It's a massive disappointment without a doubt, but it's nonsense. If I do complain we might have to play on a Friday morning and we won't be back in time."
O'Neill feels betrayed by the Scottish Premier League, whose credibility he feels has been boosted by Celtic's run to the last four of the Uefa Cup. He admits that the thought of finishing the season without any silverware has crossed his mind and concedes that it might have been worth going out in the first round.
"It's crossed my mind more than once," he said. "It's interesting the further we go in the competition the more abuse we get. What we should have done is pack our bags against Suduva and accept the embarrassment, although there wouldn't be much because their national side [Lithuania] beat Scotland.
"We could have then concentrated on the league. But it's been a good run for us and given the club and Scotland a boost. The SPL remarkably get better credibility out of it all and then they go and do that to us."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments