Michael Beale has resisted the urge to reignite his explosive war of words with Record Sport columnist Chris Sutton.
The Rangers boss got himself engaged in a verbal ding-dong with the former Celtic favourite last week but opted to hold his tongue following Saturday’s win at Livingston. But the back and forth continued on the Hotline as the calls flooded in from both sides of the Old Firm divide with punters eager to have their say.
Forbes McGarva, Doncaster, was the first to dial in, saying: “Michael Beale is correct to challenge Chris Sutton on his comments. He was challenging Beale’s integrity and it is only correct he can question that comment. Sutton makes a living with negative comments about other teams, especially Rangers. If that is your opinion Chris, then so be it, but you must expect Beale to return with his comments, even though the ‘worst player in Chelsea history’ is a bit harsh. He surely wasn't that bad, was he?”
Danny McLean added: “Should someone like Chris Sutton, who accused fellow professionals of lying down to affect a result, be questioning anyone about class?”
Frank McFerran, Carrickfergus, responded to jibes aimed at Beale’s own playing career as he said: “I see Celtic supporters demeaning Michael Beale because he never played at a high league. Neither did Jose Mourinho or Sean Dyche, are they bad managers?”
But Hoops fan Paul McCormack, Coatbridge, hit back as he emailed in: “So Sutton is ‘Chelsea's worst ever player’ and a ‘comedy act’ according to Mr Know It All. Actually, Chris Sutton is an England Internationalist and a title winner north and south of the border. How naive to target someone so directly, a rookie mistake from the rookie manager.”
Celtic maintained their relentless march towards the title with Reo Hatate the shining light in a dazzling 4-0 win over Aberdeen.
David Bryce, Troon, said: "Celtic were sensational against Aberdeen. Hatate is a superstar. My only complaint is that Joe Hart is an absolute liability and needs replaced pronto! Also, I would drop Jota for next week’s Viaplay Cup final because he’s way off it and has been for ages.”
But Rangers fan Chris Lowe, Yoker, had a keen interest in events at Parkhead over the weekend, as he explained: “An interesting stat from the Celtic v Aberdeen game was there were no bookings, which is strange given how Aberdeen play against Rangers as if their life depends on it.
“I then came across this astonishing stat - since the new year Celtic have played seven league games and committed 74 fouls but only received 4 yellow cards. Now where are all their usual conspiracy theorists with this one? A booking every 19 fouls roughly is disproportionate from every other team in the league.
“Celtic are clearly officiated to a different favourable standard than every other team.”
Meanwhile, Killie fan Tom Paterson, Falkirk, is growing concerned about his side’s prospects under Derek McInnes, saying: “It would appear our manager is incapable of recognising duds when he sees them! He starts with Blair Alston, Brad Lyons and one-trick pony Jordan Jones against Hibs when none of these guys are Premiership class and should have been shipped out in the window.
“Watch out Derek, these duds are going to take us back down!”
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