Scott Brown Makes Brutal Celtic-Rangers Admission

Scott Brown fears the Celtic-Rangers fixture is losing some of its passion because of the continued absence of away supporters.

Celtic travel to Ibrox on Sunday for a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final, but Martin O’Neill’s side will have no travelling support inside the stadium.

It means another derby will be played in front of a one-sided crowd, something Brown believes takes away from what has traditionally made the fixture so intense.

The former Celtic captain said: (The Celtic Way YouTube), “It’s not losing the appeal. It’s just losing the passion, I feel.

“You look at every other country in the world, there’s nobody else that’s got the two clubs that have been playing and that have been battling for years and years.

“It’s all about the bragging rights in the city.

“Football is the biggest thing in Scotland. It’s the biggest thing in Glasgow, in Edinburgh, wherever you are.

“The derby match is unbelievable as soon as that happens. For the two teams not to have fans in the same stadium, it’s always going to be hard.”

Brown experienced plenty of hostile trips to Ibrox during his Celtic career and was used to having a sizeable travelling support in the corner of the ground.

He believes the fixture was better for having both sets of supporters involved, while making clear there is no place for the behaviour which has contributed to restrictions around the fixture.

Brown said: “I think we’ve lost that now.

“I think the passion of the two teams and the willingness to have the bragging rights.

“It’s now just going to be behind closed doors and there’s going to be no fans.

“I’m not a big thing for people running on the pitch and the violence and throwing stuff.

“That’s no part of the game, but we need to get back to that passion.”

There will be more than 50,000 Rangers supporters inside Ibrox on Sunday and no Celtic section for O’Neill’s players to run towards if they score.

Brown, though, believes that can also create an opportunity for Celtic.

“Rangers will be delighted with it, if I’m honest,” he said.

“They’ll have 50-odd thousand Rangers fans there and not one Celtic fan on the ground. Obviously, going into it as a Celtic player, you want to silence that crowd early doors.

“You want to make sure that you keep the ball, you dictate. If Celtic get an early goal, it becomes a nervous Ibrox.”

Celtic need to start well, keep the ball and try to take the noise out of Ibrox before Rangers can get a foothold.

Brown has been in that position plenty of times and knows how quickly the mood can turn if the home side are put under pressure. Celtic will have no backing in the stands on Sunday, but that atmosphere can still work against Rangers.

The former Hoops skipper would rather see both sets of supporters back inside the stadium for these games. Until that happens, Celtic’s players will have to make their presence felt on the pitch instead.