Rangers and Celtic on best behaviour

Celtic and Rangers have been ordered to be on their best behaviour as they compete for this season’s first piece of silverware in today’s League Cup final at Hampden.

Both sets of Old Firm players and management will speak to Strathclyde police officers before they take to the pitch at the national stadium after trouble flared on the last occasion the sides met.

Hoops boss Neil Lennon and Rangers assistant Ally McCoist had to be pulled apart as they clashed at the end of an ill-tempered Scottish Cup match three weeks ago.

That fractious encounter resulted in ten bookings and Rangers ending the match with nine players and another sent off after the final whistle of a 1-0 win for Celtic.

The repercussions have been far-reaching with touchline bans for both Lennon and McCoist and both clubs were summoned to a Scottish Government summit to discuss the bad blood surrounding Old Firm fixtures.

McCoist has appealed his punishment but Lennon’s decision to accept his four-match ban means he will miss the chance to lead his side out at Hampden as he attempts to lift what could be the first part of a domestic treble in his debut season as a manager.

Despite the furore surrounding the match Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley revealed the players were just looking forward to playing the match.

“It’s great to play in any final and I’ve played in one with Cardiff. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and it’s going to be a pleasure for me and the boys but it’s going to be tough,” the Welsh international said.

“Rangers are doing well at the moment so we just have to go there and keep playing the way we are playing and you never know.

“We are happy with the way things are going and we’re looking forward to the game.”

Captain Scott Brown and defender Mark Wilson were suspended for the midweek victory over Inverness that took the Hoops into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup but will return for today’s final.

Rangers triumphed in the first of five Old Firm fixtures so far this season with a 3-1 triumph at Parkhead in October but since then the Hoops have had the upper hand with three wins.

However Gers midfielder Steven Davis believes a win today would help make amends for those defeats and also give his side, who trail Celtic by two points at the top of the Scottish Premier League, a massive boost in their drive to claim their third title in a row.

“We’ve still got two matches with Celtic this season so there are opportunities for us, the first one being in a cup final,” the Northern Ireland international said.

“Whoever lifts the trophy will get a psychological boost from winning that they can take into the final few weeks of the season.

“There’s a lot at stake in that sense and we’re confident we can go and do the job.

“There’s an international break after the game and we don’t want to be going into it on a downer. We want to be going off to play for our countries on the back of a good win then come back and build on it.

“You can see how much the games mean to everyone so it has been disappointing for us that the last couple of results haven’t gone our way. But this game gives us an opportunity to go about making amends for that.”

Scottish Premier
Dundee Utd 1 - Inverness 0
Hamilton 0 - St Johnstone 0
Hearts 3 - St Mirren 2
Kilmarnock 3 - Motherwell 1

League Cup final (today, Hampden Park)
Celtic-Rangers (16:00)

First Division
Dunfermline 4 - Stirling 1
Falkirk 2 - Dundee 2
Morton 0 - Raith Rovers 0
Partick 0 - Cowdenbeath 1
Ross County 1 - Queen of South 2

Second Division
Airdrie 2 - Stenhousemuir 2
Alloa 2 - Brechin 2
Dumbarton 4 - East Fife 2
Forfar 0 - Livingston 4
Peterhead 1 - Ayr 2

Third Division
Albion 1 - Clyde 1
Annan 2 - Montrose 1
Berwick 3 - Queen’s Park 1
East Stirling 2 - Arbroath 5
Stranraer 1 - Elgin 2