By Jack Cunningham

15th Oct, 2021 | 7:30pm

Former Rangers man Paul Gascoigne opens up on his Old Firm experiences

Former Rangers midfielder Paul Gascoigne says the atmosphere during an Old Firm derby was “horrific”.

Speaking to BT Sports What I Wore [via the Scottish Sun], Gazza went into a little bit of detail about his time at Ibrox, and it seems as if he hated the atmosphere on Old Firm day.

Gazza spent just under three years with the Gers and revealed that he was pleased with his record against Celtic, but it seems as if he really didn’t like the atmosphere, which is a little bit surprising.

He said: “It was horrific. Especially because of the religious side of it, Protestants against Catholics.

“But I was fortunate. I played in 11, unbeaten in 11 and scored a few, so I did alright against them.

“I got a bit of stick from them, but they were good for us; the fans were alright towards me, so I was quite fortunate.”

Interesting claims from Gazza.

Considering he was unbeaten in every game he played against Celtic, you might have thought that he would have loved the Old Firm.

However, it seems as if the religious element of the match perhaps spoiled the game for the former England international, which is a shame but considering, he wasn’t from the area, perhaps it is understandable.

The Old Firm does have its roots in religion, and the game between Celtic and the Gers often means so much more than a normal football match [The Scotsman].

Therefore, we can understand why that could be overwhelming for some players.

However, even though Gazza didn’t seem to like it, he certainly didn’t show that on the pitch, and he racked up a very good record against the Bhoys.

This is a really interesting interview with an icon of the English game, and we recommend any football fan to watch and listen to Gazza’s stories.

In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart has had a dig at David Edgar on Twitter.