Steven Gerrard was not consulted over Rangers guard of honour snub

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has backed his club’s decision not to provide a guard of honour to Celtic this weekend but admits he was not consulted on the issue.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard. Picture: SNSRangers manager Steven Gerrard. Picture: SNS
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard. Picture: SNS

Scottish champions Celtic will face their Old Firm rivals at Ibrox on Sunday in their first match since clinching an eighth successive league title.

Some opposition clubs have lined up to applaud Celtic onto the pitch in similar circumstances in previous seasons but Rangers’ board of directors have declined to follow suit.

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“On the guard of honour, the club has made a decision on it,” said Gerrard. “I think there are certain decisions at a football club that get made and as a manager you support them and you back them. The club have made a decision that there won’t be one and we move on and look forward to the game.”

When asked if the board had sought his views on the subject, Gerrard replied: “No”. He then insisted his own views on it were of no consequence.

“It’s irrelevant,” he added. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever I say on that, there will be unnecessary headlines that we don’t need. The club has made a decision, I back it, we move on and look forward to the game.

“Now that I’ve experienced certain Old Firm games, you expect there to be things on the agenda or in the media which are really nothing to do with what happens on the football pitch once the whistle goes. That’s just the way it is.”

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor is more concerned with atoning for December’s defeat at Ibrox than the lack of a guard of honour.

“The players are focusing on doing their jobs, that’s all we have done over the past few years,” he said. “What other teams do doesn’t really affect us.

“I know other teams have done it but if that’s the decision they want to take then that’s fine. It won’t bother us. We will go onto the pitch with the same attitude and try and win the game.

“It hasn’t been [spoken about in the dressing room]. We know how big these games are anyway. We are not looking at any narrative outside the game

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“We didn’t do ourselves justice that day in December and it has been burning in the back of the players’ heads since then – that when we go there again we have to give a much better account of ourselves.”