The derby between Celtic and Rangers will be better off without the presence of away supporters.
That's the viewpoint of former Hoops boss Gordon Strachan.
It was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that no traveling Rangers supporters would be permitted inside Celtic Park for the upcoming derby on Saturday, December 30.
While this has been met with a mixed response by fans, with some of both clubs calling on their respective sides to sort out the ongoing issues surrounding away ticket allocations, ex-Scotland manager Strachan believes it's a good thing.
He told Boyle Sports: "It is going to be noisy, aggressive and nasty. Anyone who hasn't been already, you need to go and see it. It is exhilarating at times but sad at times when you listen to the songs.
"There are no away supporters this time, which some people think is a bad thing but I actually think it is a positive. We don't need to give a platform sometimes for the people and we need that nonsense out of the game.”
Celtic have stumbled domestically of late. As well as exiting Europe, the champions have lost their last two Premiership fixtures against Kilmarnock and Hearts.
Their recent poor results have opened the door for Rangers to make a real fist of the title race this season. Should Philippe Clement's side win both of their games in hand, they could potentially leapfrog their arch-Glasgow rivals at the summit of the table.
Strachan believes Rodgers has the experience to guide the club through the tough times, but he must start to tap into that knowledge sooner rather than later.
"The thing about Brendan is, he knew what was coming because he knew about the stress of managing Celtic," the 66-year-old said. "However, he wouldn't have known what it was like to lose at Celtic because he wasn't used to that in his first spell, apart from maybe in Europe. It's not easy going back somewhere, I've not done it before myself, so this is a real test of his management.
"But he has experienced tough times with Liverpool and Leicester before so it gives you experience and knowledge to deal with moments just like this. There is no secret and no shortcut to dealing with tough times as a manager sadly.
"The only thing that matters to Celtic or Rangers is just being better than the other. It doesn't matter about the style of play, the formation, the players or anything like that - you simply have to be better than the other and winning games of football.
“Don't forget, Brendan has had to deal with an awful lot of goals going out of the team. Jota leaving was huge, but then also injuries to Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda really harmed the squad - that's almost 40 goals that has just left the team there. What has happened is that when they had the front three of Kyogo, Abada and Jota, that is a front three where all of them can score goals.
"Now, you have wingers in their place and they are not goalscorers, which is a huge difference."
