Fears Glasgow derby fixture will diminish laid bare as ex-Old Firm rivals call for return of bigger away fan allocations

Martin O’Neill and Alex McLeish have joined forces to express their disappointment over the lack of away fans at Glasgow derby matches between Celtic and Rangers amid fears it will diminish the showpiece fixture.

The former Old Firm rivals are leading calls to reintroduce away allocations after claiming the atmosphere at derbies will dip, with ex-Hoops manager O’Neill describing the past environment as “combative and brilliant”.

Ex-Gers boss McLeish also believes the lack of away fans could even hamper the home team, with Celtic preparing to travel across the city to Ibrox this weekend with no away fans allowed inside the stadium.

Both clubs formerly handed around 7,500 tickets to their rivals until Rangers confirmed in May 2018 that they were slashing that allocation to about 10 per cent of that figure. Inevitably, Celtic immediately followed suit.

The Parkhead side are believed to be in favour of a return to the original allocation but neither club have taken away briefs for the final two league meetings between the teams this season amid concerns over the safety of small groups of away fans inside Ibrox and Celtic Park.

O’Neill said: “The thing I would miss most now is that there are no Celtic fans allowed into Ibrox and no Rangers fans allowed into Celtic. I think that really does take away from the atmosphere.

“My goalkeeping coach, Seamus McDonagh, brought some friends and his grandchild up to the game here, I got him some tickets for the 3-2 game (at Celtic Park). His grandchild was blown away by the atmosphere and Seamus, who hadn’t been up for a while, thought it was fantastic.

“I said to Seamus, it genuinely doesn’t compare to the atmosphere when the opposition are in. It’s really something. I mean the Rangers goal was virtual silence. I thought there was something really combative and brilliant about the fans being in. You felt kind of consolation that you had Celtic fans at Ibrox.

“It’s a shame. Honestly, there’s definitely something missing from that. You miss it. The games were fantastic. I’m not saying I always looked forward to them but they were fantastic. The games are still special but they were extra special when the away fans were in. It would be nice if the clubs sat down and organised something. Losing the away fans does take something away from the game.”

McLeish, who spent most of his Ibrox reign up against the Irihsman, agreed with his former opponent, adding: “You get inspiration from both sets of fans. If you’re getting ribbed by the opposition fans then it inspired you to do a wee bit more for yourself.

“It seems bizarre that there won’t be opposition fans. It’s a shame. I never thought I’d see that happening but it’s the way the world has evolved. Social networks are quite vitriolic at times as well. It’s something I could just never foresee.”