Source: FOOTYMAD
Talking stops tonight
Tonight is the last chance to get something out of this season's Old Firm encounters. Tonight will see just who has been successful in getting to the opposition via their comments in the media. Ibrox striker Nacho Novo started the ball rolling last week by laying into the Parkhead side and former manager Tony Mowbray for criticising Rangers boss Walter Smith. Hoops midfielder Diomansy Kamara hit back saying he hopes the Spaniard gets silenced at Celtic Park while Andreas Hinkel upped the ante again by claiming Celtic were a better team than Rangers. Interim manager Neil Lennon refused to believe his German defender's taunts would gee up the Ibrox men saying it was "just as motivational as Nacho Novo taunting our players", while claiming Celtic are due some luck this season against Rangers. The Hoops are looking for their first Old Firm win this season with controversy surrounding each of the last three encounters. In the first meeting at Ibrox in October, which the home side won 2-1, the visitors were denied a couple of penalty claims, one of which referee Craig Thomson admitted later that he should have awarded. In the 1-1 draw at Parkhead in January Celtic striker Marc-Antoine Fortune had a goal chalked off and at Ibrox in February, where Maurice Edu scored a late winner for the Light Blues, Celtic skipper Scott Brown was controversially sent off after tangling with Kyle Lafferty.Lennon said: "I think we are due a bit of luck. I don't think Tony (Mowbray) had any luck at all throughout the course of the season. And we want the referee to call the right decisions, to make sure he gets them right. I don't think there has been much between the teams Andreas was just talking about the Old Firm games and he felt that we deserved more and I agree with him. I thought the first Old Firm game was pretty even. The talking points were the penalty decisions and we should have had one or two and that would have changed the course of the game. The second game was all us and that was one that got away from us. We got the goal but couldn't shut the door. In the third game, the sending-off changed it and they deserved to win." Brown will not allow his dismissal at Ibrox dampen his enthusiasm. The former Hibs midfielder said: "No, never. But that was the last Old Firm game, I'm just concentrating on this one. We are going to battle, we are going to have to win our 50-50s and we are going to have to play football."
