Rangers v Celtic: Ally McCoist fumes at Jeff Stelling after Old Firm rant live on talkSPORT
Jeff Stelling has insisted having Rangers v Celtic in the Scottish Cup final is not good for Scottish football, much to the bemusement of Ally McCoist following the semi-finals.
The legendary sports broadcaster questioned why the Old Firm clubs don’t just play each other every week and forget about the rest, as he insisted anybody could have predicted who would make the final.
This came after the pair were informed that this would be the first time both Celtic and Rangers have been in the Scottish Cup final since 2002 which they found tough to believe.
Speaking live on talkSPORT [22 April, 06:27am], McCoist said: “It’s amazing.”
Stelling added: “The only reason they haven’t met in the final is because they’ve knocked each other out beforehand. It’s not good, for god’s sake.
“Every English football fan will be thinking Rangers and Celtic in the final, well there’s a surprise. Why don’t they just play each other every week? Forget the rest, just play each other every single week.”
McCoist then hit back, joking: “Jeff, I have to inform you that we up here don’t give a monkey’s what English football fans think. Yesterday’s game was a good one, but the one on Saturday, what a game by the way.”
Scottish Cup semi-finals line up Rangers v Celtic clash
Despite Stelling’s refusal to accept that an Old Firm Scottish Cup final will be a huge spectacle for the supporters, McCoist is right. The fact they haven’t met in the final since 2002 will add even more drama to the occasion.
While Rangers strolled to a comfortable 2-0 victory against Hearts thanks to a brace from Cyriel Dessers, their rivals were dragged through extra time and penalties by Aberdeen, with Joe Hart saving the deciding spot kick from Killian Phillips.
Both results have led to what will be a huge game in the final as both clubs hunt silverware, with Philippe Clement’s side looking to win a double – maybe even a treble depending on the destination of the SPFL title – while Celtic will have the double in mind.
Clement’s side are already battle-proven in finals after beating Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup final but have struggled in Old Firm games this season, opening up plenty of possibilities ahead of the Hampden Park clash.
In other Rangers news, David Edgar was stunned by what Jack Butland did v Hearts.
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