ROVERS WELCOME ROD
FOR Albion Rovers, an already glamorous Scottish Cup tie with the mighty Celtic this weekend now comes with an extra sprinkling of stardust.
In what was clearly music to the ears of chairman Ronnie Boyd, the Glasgow giants confirmed yesterday that Celtic supporter Rod Stewart will be among a 9,500-sellout crowd at Excelsior Stadium on Sunday.
A confirmed fan of Stewart’s back catalogue, the Coatbridge club’s chairman is now gleefully preparing to roll out the red carpet for his VIP guest.
But the retired schoolteacher takes the view that should Rod leave the stadium in tears of anguish — rather than the tears of joy he memorably wiped away when Celtic downed Barcelona in 2012 — well, that’s showbusiness.
‘We have Rod Stewart plus two guests coming to the match on Sunday,’ grinned Boyd.
‘We’d heard the rumour on Facebook, but Celtic confirmed it on Tuesday. It all adds to the glamour of the occasion. Am I am a fan of Rod Stewart? I liked his early stuff!
‘You could even say he gives us a Reason To Believe. I could go on naming his songs if you like. I’ve been to see Rod in concert before, in Glasgow a long time ago.
‘Will I be hoping for a repeat of Rod’s tears after Celtic beat Barcelona? Well, we’ll treat him with the utmost respect and, hopefully, it will be a great day for everyone.
‘But we’re going for the victory and if Rod is disappointed at full time, then that’s just one of those things.
‘I have to be careful what I say here because my wife and my daughter are both Celtic season-ticket holders. Their wish is that Albion Rovers get a draw this weekend — and that Celtic go on to win the Treble. But if we win, I’ll be delighted.’
If the shock to end all shocks is to happen, Albion Rovers will have to beat Celtic for the first time since September 29, 1934.
The League One side also need to become the first club to inflict domestic defeat on Brendan Rodgers’ runaway Scottish Premiership leaders. Yet, three years ago, the Lanarkshire minnows were 13 minutes from a stunning first win over Rangers in 89 years as they led 1-0 at Ibrox in a Scottish Cup quarter-final.
A controversial leveller from emergency forward Bilel Mohsni — who was accused of fouling goalkeeper Neil Parry — averted huge embarrassment for Ally McCoist’s team.
‘I’m not going to say anything about dodgy referees, but we were 13 minutes away from glory,’ recalled Boyd.
‘After the match, I looked at that goal ten times a day and it wouldn’t have looked out of place in 1928 — not 2014.
‘I feel we have a better squad now than back then. I just hope Celtic come back from their warm-weather training in Dubai a bit rusty and that the weather in Airdrie is a bit wet and windy.’
However, Boyd admits that the thought of Celtic running up a cricket score against Darren Young’s side is preying on his mind at times. ‘Of course, part of you fears the worst,’ said Boyd. ‘No disrespect to Rangers, but Celtic are a much stronger team now than Rangers were then. ‘But I’ve got a banner in my car that reads: “Albion Rovers: Coatbridge Since 1882”. We’ve lived in hope since 1882 and we go into this game knowing we are here on merit. We were down to ten men in the last round and beat Queen of the South, who are a division above us. ‘While we are ten miles from Parkhead, we are light years away from Celtic in terms of resources. I just hope we can give it our best shot.’ Even if the worst happens, Albion Rovers will be able to lick their wounds safe in the knowledge that their bank balance will swell to the tune of £100,000. Times are exceedingly tough in Scottish football and Boyd wants a fairer system that avoids clubs living in hope of rare Scottish Cup paydays.
‘When we beat Queen of the South, we earned the grand total of £834. We’ll bank a lot more this weekend,’ he grinned.
‘It will help us go from a weekly battle for survival to a bit of stability. It won’t revolutionise the club — we’re not going to put down a 3G pitch or build a 60,000-seater stadium — but it will help us build for the future.
‘A lot of clubs at this level are struggling. Raith Rovers had to go to their fans to help them pay the wages after a couple of postponements recently.
‘Queen of the South took their defeat against us in the right manner, but they were clearly shattered at missing out on the bonus of a cup game against Celtic.
‘For us, this is like winning the lottery. I’m not criticising the SFA or Celtic, but I’d like to see a bigger slice of the pie coming down to the lower leagues. Then, struggling clubs would not be praying for a lottery win by drawing Celtic in the Cup.
‘But it’s going to be a wonderful occasion this weekend for Albion Rovers and for the entire community.’
“If Rod ends up disappointed, that’s just one of those things”