When a group of Celtic fans took out a newspaper ad on Sunday in which they claimed that the Rangers side they will meet this weekend is an entirely different entity to the Rangers of old, it kicked up a bit of a fuss.
And now Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish has had his say on the above advertisement which argued that the term “Old Firm” has become a redundant one since Rangers’ liquidation.
The ad included the paragraph: “This will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs and the purpose of this statement is to place our position on record so that Celtic supporters can enjoy the occasion for what it is and without playing any part in what we see as the Rangers ‘club continuation’ fiction’.”
But Dalglish, who both played and managed at Celtic Park is insistent that this Rangers team is no different to previous ones.
‘Rangers is an iconic name of Scottish football, as is Celtic,’ Dalglish told The Scotsman. ‘If people want to do that in an advert, you would need to ask them why.
‘It’s like asking me why a psychopath does what he does. I don’t know. I wouldn’t have an answer for what they’ve done. It’s Rangers. If you are a Celtic fan, it’s still Rangers isn’t it?’
Dalglish was quick to dismiss any suggestion that Rangers’ struggles of late have diminished the significance of Celtic v Rangers clashes.
‘It doesn’t matter that Rangers have been through the mire for three years,” he said. “You are still playing against Rangers on Sunday – you can’t take that away.
‘Would victory mean less to Celtic fans than before? I would say no, but I don’t know what’s in their minds. They have waited three years for an Old Firm game – why would it mean any less?
‘By the way, it won’t be devalued either. In years to come, whether Celtic beat Rangers or Rangers beat Celtic, the record books will say it was the League Cup semi-final in 2015. It won’t say “by the way, Rangers struggled for three years and they were in the Championship”. It will still say the score.’
