Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Steven Mair

The best Celtic derby rituals from iconic thousand yard tunnel stare to stomach turning pre match CURRY

Come Sunday morning players of Rangers and Celtic will be going through their familiar routines.

And it's well known that many swear by some particularly bizarre rituals before they head out.

The pressure cooker of derby day makes players do the most remarkable things on the park and it's no different behind the scenes when so much is on the line.

This match in particular is high stakes with the title up for grabs and it's the Hoops who have a three-point upper hand when they head to Ibrox.

Record Sport delves into some of the best pre-match superstitions from the green half of Glasgow.

Scott Brown

Parkhead legend Brown was named Hoops captain in early 2010 and when he was brought to the front the image of him in the tunnel, unmoved, became part of derby day iconography for over a decade.

Those in behind in both green and blue would mill around and talk amongst themselves, perhaps a shout of 'come on lads' as the convoy of 22 began to move towards the pitch.

But front and centre the shaven-headed captain was completely static, like he was trying to stare through the stand opposite.

Gers captains came and went: David Weir, Steven Davis, Carlos Bocanegra, Lee Wallace and the incumbent James Tavernier.

Brown remained unmoved no matter who stood alongside him.

Former boss Gordon Strachan once said: "He’ll probably be remembered most of all for that stare. That stare you see when he’s standing in the tunnel, you get the same stare off him in the dressing room at half-time.

"When I first brought him to Celtic I said to the guys, ‘Have you watched him at half-time?

“You could call him the best player in the world or the worst player in the world and he never blinks. He just stares at you. It’s unnerving.

"I thought to myself, ‘There’s something wrong with that fella. He doesn’t blink. It doesn’t matter what I say to him there is absolutely no emotion!’.

"I remember one time I asked him, ‘Can you tell me what you’re actually thinking at this moment because you’re killing me?’

"He just kept staring then cracked a wee smile. Brilliant!"

Ange Postecoglou

Yes, the current manager has a little routine of his own when his team play at home.

He's not big into superstitions but this one is more about lapping up a moment that still moves him.

Postecoglou said: "As a young kid I just followed English football, Scottish football, anything from the other side of the world, because in Australia at the time football wasn't the most professional or highly-publicised sport.

"I'd sit up in the middle of the night and watch games from over here and I always loved the atmosphere that was created.

"I'd get up early to watch the pre-match and you hear them singing the songs.

"I do it now at Celtic. Just before the lads go out, they're in the sheds and the dressing rooms.

"And I'll walk out of the dressing rooms and just stand in the tunnel, and listen to the crowd sing You'll Never Walk Alone before we walk out."

Pierre van Hooijdonk and Tosh McKinlay

Simon Donnelly didn't care much for superstitions but speaking to Go Radio he revealed Dutchman Van Hooijdonk had one that made his stomach turn – wolfing down a curry on game day.

It could have made for gruesome scenes had he combined that with team-mate McKinlay's favourite routine, which was to make himself sick.

Donnelly revealed: "We had some mad ones in our dressing room.

Dutchman Pierre van Hooijdonk had an interesting matchday meal (Getty)

"Tosh McKinlay went into the toilet and tried to make himself sick before games, just right before we went out.

"Pierre van Hooijdonk had a curry for his pre-match which I couldn't get my head around!"

Bobby Murdoch and Danny McGrain

These two Celtic heroes of the 60s and 70s were team-mates for three years and during that time the Hoops dressing room might have been a particularly odd place.

Rumour has it Lisbon Lion Murdoch always insisted on being the final man out onto the pitch when the teams came out.

He would fall in line behind McGrain who is said to have made his shorts the final article of clothing he'd put on – and only right at the last moment as the players headed for the tunnel.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.