Celtic out to avoid Rangers guard of honour clamour this weekend

By Andrew Smith
Published 5th Mar 2021, 07:00 BST
Celtic's Diego Laxalt and Rangers Kemar Roofe in an aerial challenge during the clubs' last derby, at Ibrox in January. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)Celtic's Diego Laxalt and Rangers Kemar Roofe in an aerial challenge during the clubs' last derby, at Ibrox in January. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic's Diego Laxalt and Rangers Kemar Roofe in an aerial challenge during the clubs' last derby, at Ibrox in January. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic will have to brace themselves for calls to hold a guard of honour for Rangers’ in the event of the championship officially being concluded this weekend.

Should Steven Gerrard’s side beat St Mirren at home on Saturday and then Celtic fail to win against Dundee United on Sunday, the Ibrox men will be confirmed as title winners ahead of travelling across the city for their next Premiership fixture.

A clamour is sure to be created for Celtic to stage a guard of honour in that March 21 derby encounter. It will come as the result of the club’s now-departed manager Neil Lennon expressing his disappointment Rangers did not stage one when the roles were reversed in May 2019. He then stated it was a “break with tradition” and that “we would have done it if the shoe had been on the other foot”. At that time, Gerrard, part of a guard of honour as a Liverpool player before a game against Chelsea in 2016, suggested he was not averse to doing so for the final derby that season - staged at Ibrox - and implied the matter had been taken out of his hands.

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