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Celtic: Charlie Nicholas criticises Rangers’ ‘extreme’ celebrations
Former Celtic striker Charlie Nicholas has stuck the boot in on Rangers after their Scottish Cup victory over the Hoops, claiming their celebrations were ‘extreme’.
The Lowdown: Celtic stinging after defeat
Ange Postecoglou’s side were beaten in the semi-final on Sunday afternoon, suffering a damaging 2-1 defeat at Hampden Park.
Celtic threw away a second-half lead to eventually lose in extra-time, as their hopes of winning a treble went up in smoke for another season.
Rangers’ players and supporters celebrated wildly at Hampden after the final whistle, which doesn’t seem to have gone down too well with one person.
The Latest: Nicholas makes Rangers dig
Writing in his Scottish Daily Express column (via The Scottish Sun), Nicholas claimed the scenes at the end were over-the-top:
“Rangers’ celebrations at the end of their Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic were a bit extreme.
“They deserved to go through because they were the better team at Hampden but there is still a lot of work to be done before they can really celebrate.
“I am not being bitter towards Rangers because I know the intensity of the emotions after an Old Firm derby.”
The Verdict: Sour grapes?
In truth, Nicholas’ comments could easily be construed as being sour grapes, with the ex-Celtic man no doubt aggrieved by the outcome at Hampden. Any win in the derby is invariably met in a similar manner.
Celtic can certainly use Rangers’ celebrations as inspiration for the rest of the season, however, ensuring they don’t witness those scenes at Ibrox when the Scottish Premiership title race concludes.
With a six-point cushion, Postecoglou’s men are the overriding favourites to be crowned champions next month – they just have to bounce back from the Scottish Cup setback and get the job done.
In other news, a journalist has provided a worrying Celtic transfer update. Read more here.
