Big match no Firm favourite with my mum

CELTIC and Rangers go head to head again tomorrow.

The week running up to the derby can be a difficult one for the players.

The match receives endless coverage in print, radio and TV and the media in general like to hear from the players who will take part.

The pressure even gets to family members. My late mother, God rest her, had very little interest in football but had a particular dislike of the Old Firm clashes.

This was because, in the days prior to the match when she was in the local shops, Celtic fans used to tell her to remind me that they were expecting their team to win!

Mum just got very embarrassed by the whole situation and was always glad when it was over.

This encounter will be as competitive as ever. Last week the Celtic players seemed to please their interim manager with a resounding 6-0 victory over Livingston while Rangers beat third-placed Hibs.

Now, in the run-up to the cup clash, John Kennedy must encourage his players to continue the form shown against Livi.

Gers’ Steven Gerrard must ensure his players put their title success behind them and keep all their attention focused on this tie.

Who will win? I have been asked that before, many times, and my answer is always the same.

The match will be won by the side whose players turn up for the occasion, impose their will on the other team and score the necessary goals. It is as simple as that.

Today is the anniversary of an amazing day in Scottish football history. On April 17, 1937, Scotland and England ran out at Hampden Park for the final match in the British Home International Championship.

Scotland won 3-1 with goals from Frank O’Donnell and Bob McPhail (2). It put them ahead of England in the table but Wales won all of their matches to lift the Jubilee Trophy.

A massive crowd of 149,547 had crammed into Hampden for the occasion.

At outside-right for Scotland that afternoon was Jimmy Delaney of Celtic. Seven days later he was in the Hoops side that beat Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final, when the attendance was 147,365.

It had certainly been an interesting week for Jimmy. In the course of two matches over seven days he had played in front of nearly 300,000 people.