I’d party all night with rivals after our war on pitch

After an Old Firm defeat Celtic and Rangers players are well advised to hide away until the dust settles.

That’s why ex-Hoops defender Paul Elliott (right) couldn’t have played in the modern era.

He scored in the 1990 League Cup Final but still ended up on the losing side as Gers triumphed 2-1 in extra time.

Elliott was warned by then gaffer Billy McNeill NOT to go into the city that night. But the Englishman couldn’t resist and ended up partying with Rangers players in a Glasgow club.

To this day, Elliott doesn’t see anything wrong with it – apart from disobeying orders.

But in the social media age, when players’ lives are under scrutiny, he’s glad not to be part of it.

It’s fair to say that Old Firm stars won’t be mixing after today’s clash at Ibrox, irrespective of the result.

And Elliott – who spent two years at Parkhead – believes it’s a sad state of affairs. He said: “My biggest disappointment is that I’ve not got a blue plaque with my name on it outside Victoria’s nightclub in Glasgow.

“That was my second home and I met the Rangers boys in there all the time.

“After the Skol Cup Final defeat in 1990, I scored and won the man of the match award. But because we’d lost Billy told us that no one was to go out that night. He looked at me specifically and said: ‘You as well big man.’

“But I was at home looking at my watch and decided to go to Victoria’s.

“All the Rangers guys were there, Ally McCoist, Mo Johnston, Terry Hurlock, Mark Hateley – they were in the piano bar.

“They were friends. That was the great thing about football. We could have a war on the pitch – but be sociable after it.

“A lot of people find that difficult. But I’d known guys like Hateley for years.

“The way it is now, I couldn’t have gone to Victoria’s that night and enjoyed a drink with Rangers players.

“Hand on heart, I wouldn’t have wanted to play in this current era.”

Elliott knows that only players with strong mentalities can cope in the pressure pot of Glasgow.

He said: “Players I thought were good couldn’t cope with the intensity in Glasgow.

“If you make a mistake early in an Old Firm game for instance, it’s very hard to recover.

“Technology is brilliant but it’s also destructive.

“Players can read what people are saying at the touch of a button. It’s an extra layer of criticism.”

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