Celtic vs Rangers: O’Neill Prepares for Unique Derby Without Away Fans

Martin O’Neill has revealed that Celtic received a pre-emptive “general behaviour” warning from Police Scotland ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers at Ibrox – a seismic Old Firm tie that will be played without a single away supporter.

No Celtic fans. Fifty thousand seats. One half of Glasgow silenced by order of the authorities.

The decision follows the ugly scenes that scarred the last Old Firm meeting in Govan back in March, when Celtic edged Rangers on penalties in a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final after 120 goalless, bad-tempered minutes. Disorder in the stands dragged the rivalry into the dock, and the verdict has been harsh.

Both clubs have been ordered to play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors. On top of that, each has been hit with a £100,000 compensation bill, to be paid to whichever club is drawn away in their next fixture in the competition. The punishment lingers in the background as the city braces for another collision.

O’Neill, now 74 and back in the eye of the Old Firm storm, knows exactly what this fixture feels like at full volume. On Sunday, he must walk into a version of Ibrox he has never known.

“It’ll be a bit strange not having the (Celtic) fans in,” he admitted, before quickly turning to the football. “But I’m nervously and excitedly looking forward to it, it’s a great fixture.”

Strange or not, the build-up has been tightly controlled. The Celtic manager confirmed that Police Scotland officers visited the club on Friday for what he described as a short, sharp reminder of responsibilities.

“We had the police come in today, just a little 15 minute meeting with us, just reminders of our behaviour, which I think is actually a timely reminder. It a good thing as well,” O’Neill said.

This wasn’t about one flashpoint or one player. It was about the whole picture.

“I think it’s the overall picture. Gosh, it’d be nice to have something to celebrate. I think it’s just general behaviour from us.

“They didn’t mention this but I would have assumed that one of the things that they considered is what happens on the field of play, because these things can be taken further.

“You don’t want any sort of punch-ups for a start; secondly, you don’t want too excessive celebrations, stuff like that, if that was the case.

“I mean, I’d be delighted to be celebrating something in the game. But it’s the behaviour in the light of what has happened in recent fixtures.”

The message is clear: win the game, but keep a lid on everything else.

On the pitch, O’Neill still has decisions to make. In midfield, he expects Mika Baur to train on Saturday after the player missed Friday’s session with a knock, easing one selection concern on the eve of the derby.

In goal, though, the picture is far less settled.

Sam Johnstone, the experienced England international on loan from Wolves, made his Celtic debut in Wednesday night’s 1-0 William Hill Premiership win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. It was a solid first outing, but not necessarily a definitive statement.

Viljami Sinisalo, who started the season as number one and has “done exceptionally well” in O’Neill’s words, now waits to discover whether that midweek change was a one-off audition or the beginning of a new order.

“I haven’t made my mind up at all,” O’Neill said. “It was a matter of getting a look at what Sam can do.

“It’s great to have the two of them. Big Viljami has done exceptionally well for us and it was just, again, an opportunity to see what Sam can do now.

“What he could do a couple of years ago was fantastic, what he can do now might be a totally different picture. I will let them know first.”

So the derby arrives with no away fans, a police warning still echoing in the dressing room and a goalkeeper call hanging in the air. For Celtic, for O’Neill, and for a rivalry under scrutiny, what happens in those ninety minutes at Ibrox will say plenty about where this season – and this fixture – is heading next.