Family ticket demands to kids’ birthdays - how Rangers and Celtic stars are preparing for derby off the pitch

It's been a nervy week's wait for Scottish football fans as Celtic and Rangers prepare for this weekend's League Cup Old Firm clash.

An in-form Rangers side that has won 13 in their last 14 under new boss Michael Beale stands in the way of Celtic retaining the title.

Should The Bhoys do the job at Hampden Park it will be the club's sixth triumph in the competition in the last seven years, whilst Rangers haven't won the Scottish League Cup since defeating their bitter rivals in the 2011 final.

Both sides' on-pitch form is no secret with fans of each side having good reason for believing that it is their side who will triumph at the Scottish national stadium.

GlasgowWorld dives into what's been going on away from the pitch in preparations for this weekend's final, scouring through club and player social media accounts to see what the stars of Sunday's big game have been up to.

At the start of the week, both Celtic and Rangers took a moment away from training and cup preparations to pass on messages of condolences to Hibernian FC Executive Chairman Ronald J Gordon, who passed away on Monday morning.

A Celtic statement read: "Everyone at Celtic Football Club would like to share our sincere condolences. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the Club are with Ron's family, friends and everyone at Hibernian FC at this extremely sad time. RIP, Ron."

Meanwhile, Rangers wrote: "Rangers Football Club is deeply saddened to hear the news of the untimely death of Hibernian Executive Chairman, Ronald J Gordon. We offer our deepest condolences to Ronald’s family, loved ones and all at @HibernianFC at this difficult time."

A minute of applause will take place at the match on Sunday in tribute to Ronald Gordon.

Rangers

The tragic news of Ron's passing came the day after Rangers celebrated the induction of players Allan McGregor, James Tavernier and Steven Davis into the club’s prestigious Hall of Fame at an off-the-pitch event.

James Tavernier said: "What an unbelievable feeling to be inducted into the @RangersFC Hall of Fame. To be sharing my name with the greats of our special club is a true honour! I want to thank everybody who’s been part of my journey so far."

Images of the stars in their finery posing for photos made the event look quite the party but defender Borna Barišić said celebrations were kept to a minimum ahead of Sunday.

He said: "We didn't do anything, we are preparing for the game on Sunday. It's a big achievement for them, for the club and fans also. They deserve it. Congratulations, but we didn't have time to celebrate. We're focused on Sunday."

Meanwhile, forward Fashion Sakala hinted that it was still an evening to be marvelled at in his pre-match press conference.

Sakala joked: "If I want to be inducted into the Hall of Fame I have to perform on Sunday!"

In that interview, Sakala also stirred the pot with some off-the-pitch shots fired at Celtic. He said: “A year ago we won the league unbeaten so that shows we are better than them. Obviously last season we were four points on top before Gerrard left so the change in coach contributed a lot for us to be struggling.

“But if Gerrard was still here I think we’d have won the league last season. And this season you can see we struggled again. It’s the same thing that happened last season. But the way we’re playing now, it’s exactly the same as we were playing when Gerrard was here. Yes, we’re nine points behind but we’ll keep fighting to put them under pressure and recover.”

Rangers stars have been largely quiet on social media this week with minds focused on Sunday. Midfielder Scott Arfield did share a snap of him out and about with rising Scottish singer Luke La Volpe.

Elsewhere, Ianis Hagi spent time preparing and releasing the latest episode of his road to recovery clips he had been posting online. Titled 'The Final Destination', the eight-and-a-half-minute video follows Hagi as he whips up a pasta dish at home and prepares for the match against St Johnstone on January 28.

The 24-year-old came off the bench in that match in what was his first appearance of the season.

Barišić summed up pre-match preparations for Sunday as nothing different to other fixtures. He said: "Not differently, it's like every game. Of course, this game is bigger than some other games but we have a lot of experience. You need to be mentally prepared but nothing has changed compared with previous games."

Celtic

It's been even quieter from players on the Celtic front as the club prepares to try and retain their Scottish League Cup title.

The biggest clue to what players might be experiencing off the pitch came from Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou explained that his players were getting more attention than usual in their private lives this week given the significance of Sunday's game.

He said: "I'm not one who tells the players to treat it like any other week because it's not. That is the reality, you need to embrace that side of it, inevitably there's going to be more attention even within their circles. Players will feel more attention, whether that is around cup final tickets or the people who love them feeling more anxious in the lead-up and they need to understand it's part of the week's journey.

"That's the same for me as a manager. What you try to do is you make sure it doesn't hamper your preparation to be in the best possible condition come game day."

Celtic stars have been quiet as a mouse on their social channels, but one player who did have something to celebrate this week was defender Anthony Ralston.

The 24-year-old celebrated his daughter Mia's third birthday with what looked to be a Frozen themed party from snaps shared on Instagram.