‘Rangers and Celtic stars sat at completely different tables with Scotland – I needed to kick out nonsense’
The Old Firm rivalry is one of the fiercest in European football but it’s not just Glasgow that feels the hatred of Rangers and Celtic.
Scottish football is defined by the two titans, and that animosity even makes its way into the national team games, with cases of Rangers and Celtic players being booed by warring Scotland fans during international games due to their Glasgow allegiances.
Some fans even feel that the Old Firm split is one of the reasons behind why the national team has consistently failed on the major tournament stage, causing a rift between supporters and players in the squad.
Strachan ensured Rangers and Celtic’s rivalry remained at their clubs
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And in a bid to leave that hostility back with their respective clubs, former Scotland boss Gordon Strachan threatened not to call up any players from the national squad who brought the derby into the dressing room.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, via Grosvenor Sport, the former Aberdeen, Manchester United and Leeds midfielder said: “We used to sit at different tables and the Celtic players would sit at a different table from the Rangers players. And even the Aberdeen players would sit at a different table.
“So it wasn’t great. [Former Scotland manager] Andy Roxborough helped to disperse that kind of thing, and I thought he was good at that.
The Old Firm rivalry has threatened to overshadow the Scotland national team(Image: getty images)
“And when I led the Scotland team, I think we got it spot on. I think if you looked at the five years I was there, we never had any mishaps in the dressing room, or outside the dressing room.
“It’s not like the English cricket where you’re in a fight and all that kind of thing!
“We kind of cleared all that out of the way. I was quite happy with that, but if I felt anybody was bringing that kind of Celtic Rangers nonsense into it, I wouldn’t drop them, I just wouldn’t pick them again.
“Anything like that, I could sniff it. I thought, ‘nah, it’s not good enough’.”
Strachan led Scotland from 2013 to 2017 after previously managing Celtic between 2005 and 2009, but he was unable to guide the Tartan Army to qualify for Euro 2016, narrowly missing out on the feat, or the 2018 World Cup, leading to his exit.
The Edinburgh-born hero also enjoyed impressive spells with Coventry, Southampton, where he led the Saints to the FA Cup final in 2003, and Middlesbrough. He won three league titles and took Celtic into the Champions League round of 16 during his time at Celtic Park.
