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| Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, 8 April Kick-off: 12:30 BST |
| Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app |
Celtic captain Callum McGregor says no away fans being in the stadium for Saturday’s derby against Rangers detracts from the Old Firm spectacle.
Rangers visit Celtic Park aiming to reduce the home side’s nine-point lead in the Scottish Premiership.
McGregor says his side will try to harness their own support’s energy but would like a return to derbies with a full allocation of 7,500 away fans.
“I think it adds a little bit of something different,” he said.
“Hopefully as a spectacle we can get it back to what it was a few years ago when there were bigger crowds in the stadium.”
Away support for Old Firm derbies has been significantly reduced since the 2018-19 campaign.
The clubs announced last month that no tickets for away fans would be available for the two remaining league meetings this season.
“It’s a hard enough fixture to go there with fans, never mind without fans,” said McGregor. “The place becomes more hostile and we’ll be looking to use that to our advantage at the weekend.
“So it does add something extra. The game’s difficult anyway but you need to go in with that siege mentality it’s you in there against everyone else to try to pick up a result.
“Hopefully we can harness the energy in the stadium and use it as a positive for us.”
