Boyd aims to bring tears to Rod’s eyes

EVERY penny they make from their Scottish Cup tie with Celtic will be precious to Albion Rovers, so it is perhaps fitting that maybe the most famously frugal Scot of them all will be in attendance on their big day.

Celtic-daft superstar Rod Stewart has requested tickets for the game in Airdrie on Sunday, but while Rovers chairman Ronnie Boyd will roll out the red carpet for the singer, he hopes to send him home in tears once more.

Stewart famously broke down after Celtic defeated Barcelona back in 2012, but this time, Boyd hopes the wee Rovers can have him reaching for the hankies for a much different reason.

“We have Rod Stewart plus two coming to the match,” Boyd said. “We’d heard the rumour on Facebook, but Celtic confirmed it with us today that he is coming.

“Am I a fan of Rod Stewart? I liked his early stuff! He gives us A Reason To Believe obviously...I could go on.

“We will make him very welcome when he comes to the game.

“Will I be hoping for a repeat of Rod’s tears after Celtic beat Barcelona in 2012? We will treat Rod with the utmost respect and hopefully it will be a great day. We are going for the victory and if Rod is disappointed at the end then that is just one of those things.”

Boyd is nursing a sense of injustice from the last time Rovers had such a high-profile game, when a controversial late equaliser for Rangers from Bilel Mohsni denied them a win at Ibrox.

He reckons it would be an even bigger achievement if they could earn any sort of result against Brendan Rodgers’ rampant Celtic side. “A lot of people refer back to our quarter-final at Ibrox three years ago,” he said. “I mean no disrespect to Rangers, but Celtic are a much stronger team now than Rangers were then.

“Of course, there is a part of you that fears the worst. But I’ve got a banner in my car that says ‘Albion Rovers: Coatbridge Since 1882.’ We’ve lived in hope since 1882 and we go into the game knowing we are here on merit.

“We are 10 miles from Parkhead but we are light years away from Celtic in terms of resources. I hope we can give it our best.”