Scotland manager Steve Clarke has been left bemused and unhappy with the decision to schedule Rangers vs Celtic this Sunday as opposed to Saturday.
The Glasgow Derby marks the final game for both clubs before the international break kicks in. Clarke has five Celtic players involved in his Scotland squad for September’s World Cup qualifiers, along with one solitary Rangers player.
The derby will take place only three days before Scotland travel to Denmark for a crucial qualifying tie. Matches against Moldova and Austria will then follow.
And Clarke has expressed his bewilderment as to why the derby isn’t being played 24 hours earlier.
As quoted by the Scotsman, the Scotland boss said: “It is just one of these things. It’s part and parcel of the modern game and the players will tell you they are used to it, but it would have been nicer if Celtic and Rangers had been on the Saturday and not the Sunday. Listen, we will just deal with it and get on with it.
“I’m not in charge of the fixtures. I don’t know how they feed the balls into that computer which comes up with the fixtures. Sometimes you look at that fixture and think, ‘how did that happen?’ I don’t know how they plan the fixtures, but it’s one of those things and we will deal with it.”
Steve Clarke wanted Rangers vs Celtic to take place on Saturday
There’s no denying that all five Celtic players will run themselves into the ground on Sunday. The only player involved in the Scotland squad who likely won’t feature is Rangers’ Nathan Patterson, so Clarke is clearly annoyed at the scheduling of the Celtic players.
However, he’s forgetting the fact that both clubs are in European action on Thursday night. Celtic travel to AZ Alkmaar whilst Rangers are in Armenia to face Alashkert. Having them dash back on Friday morning and ready for a Saturday Glasgow derby would be wholly irresponsible.
It’s not as if UEFA would accept Celtic or Rangers moving their ties either. Why would they just to help the Scottish National Team’s benefit?
In normal circumstances, this may very well have been a match penned in for a Saturday lunchtime slot. It’s certainly something the supporters would’ve preferred in general.
But the fact is that it just wasn’t feasible this time around. Not with crucial games being played on the Thursday. Games that will likely take it out of the players.
If Scotland fail to pick up a result in Denmark next week, it won’t be because Celtic faced Rangers three days beforehand. Hopefully, Clarke can find solutions regardless.
In other news, Celtic’s Ross Doohan impressed with Ange Postecoglou methods
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