NEIL Lennon has admitted he would like to see a return to the traditional ticketing arrangements at Old Firm games from next season – even though he feels having only 800 Rangers fans in the 58,000-strong crowd at Parkhead this afternoon will substantially increase Celtic’s chances of victory.
Rangers announced last May that they would be slashing Celtic’s allocation of briefs for matches at Ibrox by over 6,000 to just 800 and selling season tickets to their supporters in the Broomloan Road Stand.
The Scottish champions responded to that move in September by reluctantly reducing the size of the away support inside Celtic Park at the Glasgow derby match to around 800 as well.
Brendan Rodgers’ side won the opening Old Firm game of the 2018/19 campaign 1-0 in the East End in September while Steven Gerrard’s team triumphed by the same scoreline in Govan at the end of December.
Lennon, who succeeded Rodgers on an interim basis last month, will step into the dugout before the world-famous fixture for the first time since back in the April of 2012, when his team ran out 3-0 winners at Parkhead, this afternoon.
The 47-year-old, who is hoping to do well enough between now and the end of the season to be made Celtic manager on a permanent basis, knows that having the vast majority of the crowd cheering on his team will boost their prospects of winning and opening up a 13 point gap at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership with seven games remaining.
However, the Northern Irishman has stated that he favours the previous arrangement – and feels the atmosphere of the game is less intense as a result of the change.
Asked what affect he thought having so few Rangers fans inside Parkhead would have on Celtic, Lennon said: “I’d like to think it would be an advantage for us. I think it has been in both games so far this season.
“Whether it’s what people would perceive to be a good idea or not, I don’t know. I enjoyed us having a big away support at Ibrox and I'm sure the Rangers players say the same about Celtic Park. It diminishes it a little bit.
“Maybe the powers that be will look at it again and change it. But listen, it's my first one since 2012, I'm just trying to concentrate on winning the game.
“It’s going to be all Celtic fans so I’m quite please about that. I want Rangers to feel the noise and power we can generate in the stadium. Not just from the players but from the supporters as well. That’s what being at home in a derby is all about. We generate that atmosphere and feed off that.
“It’s always a huge advantage being at home. Our record in recent years has been pretty good and our home record over the last couple of years domestically has been superb.”
Lennon has been the victim of sickening sectarian abuse both on and off the park during his time as a player and manager at Parkhead and is sure to be singled out by the away support after the game kicks off at noon today.
There have been increased calls for the introduction of strict liability to punish clubs whose supporters engage in bigoted chanting this season following a series of high-profile incidents.
However, Lennon feels Scottish football will struggle to rid itself of sectarianism no matter what preventative measures it takes.
“I don't know if that day will ever come,” he said. “It’s a facet of the game. The rivalry is always going to be there and that element, it's been going on for more than 100 years. Why would I think it would change over the next 100? It’s got to come from the home first and foremost. It’s just a dark side of what’s a brilliant fixture.”
Asked about the importance of victory to Celtic's chances of winning their eighth consecutive Scottish title, Lennon said: “A win would be a hammer blow (to Rangers), not insurmountable, but we’re talking hypothetically.
"The objective is always to win the game whenever we play our nearest rivals. That’s not going to change and the mind-set will be, we’re at home and will look to take the game to Rangers at every opportunity.
“We’ll be prepared for any eventuality and will be focusing on what we’re going to do. Hopefully we can dominate the game and dominate the ball like we can.
"I would like us to be a bit more physical than we were at Ibrox. That’s always an important attribute to have in a derby.
“I’m feeling quite calm at the minute and I’m not allowing myself to be distracted by all the noise and hype around it. I won’t know until I smell it and the instincts sort of kick in."
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