In pictures: The Old Firm league debuts of last five Rangers and Celtic bosses

The Little General had embarked on a summer spending spree to bring a host of big names to Ibrox but he was left frustrated on his Old Firm bow.

This was the first time in the history of the fixture that both teams were managed by foreign coaches and 14 of the 22 starters were from outside Scotland.
The likes of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Andrei Kanchelskis and Rod Wallace were all handed starts. Rangers created a host of chances but couldn’t find the route to goal as Jo Venglos’s side stood firm to take a point back to Parkhead.

Despite losing his second derby clash 5-1 across the city, Advocaat would go on to lead the Light Blues to the Treble in his first year in Glasgow.
 

ALEX MCLEISH
March 10, 2002
Rangers 1-1 Celtic

McLeish had already tasted Old Firm victory by the time he faced Celtic on Premier League duty for the first time at Ibrox.

Goals from Peter Lovenkrands and Bert Konterman had given the Gers a 2-1 win at Hampden in the League Cup but there was no repeat success a couple of weeks later as the game ended in a draw.

Stan Petrov fired the Hoops in front after 23 minutes but Rangers recovered and would earn a draw as Artur Numan rifled the ball past Rab Douglas from 25 yards.

Celtic remained 10 points clear at the top of the table but McLeish would end the campaign with another cup success at Hampden.

PAUL LE GUEN
September 23, 2006
Celtic 2-0 Rangers

The Frenchman would only take charge of two Old Firm encounters and would leave Ibrox without a derby victory to his credit, this defeat at Parkhead followed by a 1-1 draw at home weeks before he was replaced by Walter Smith.

Le Guen’s side fell seven points behind their title rivals as they were beaten at Parkhead thanks to strikes from Thomas Gravesen and Kenny Miller.

Celtic got the goal their play deserved when the former Real Madrid midfielder converted following a superb stop from Allan McGregor as he denied Aiden McGeady.

It took until the 74th minute for Strachan’s side to make sure of the points and it was Miller who scored against his former club as he got his first goal in green and white.

WALTER SMITH
March 11, 2007
Celtic 0-1 Rangers

After a barren run of Old Firm outings, the Light Blue legions could celebrate once again at Parkhead as Walter Smith lead his side to a memorable win on his Old Firm return.

The Ibrox legend made an immediate impact after replacing Paul Le Guen in the dugout and derby success was a rare highlight in an otherwise forgettable league campaign for the Gers.

Gordon Strachan’s side had the best of the chances and Kenny Miller squandered a couple of promising openings for the Hoops but it was the visitors who took the lead in stunning style.

Celtic failed to clear their lines from a Charlie Adam corner and defender Ugo Ehiogu scored one of the most famous derby goals in recent years as his overhead kick found the top corner of Artur Boruc’s net.

ALLY MCCOIST
Rangers 4-2 Celtic
September 18, 2011

Rangers maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign and moved four points clear at the top of the table as they emerged victorious in a six-goal thriller at Ibrox.

Steven Naismith gave the Gers the lead but Celtic were ahead at the break as Gary Hooper and Badr El Kaddouri netted in quick succession.

McCoist’s side stormed out of the blocks in the second half and were level when Nikica Jelavic headed home after 55 minutes before Kyle Lafferty hit his first derby goal to send Ibrox wild.

Charlie Mulgrew was sent off after picking up a second booking and there was no way back for Celtic as Naismith added a shine to the scoreline with his second of the afternoon in stoppage time.

CELTIC

JOHN BARNES
November 7, 1999
Rangers 4 Celtic 2

By the time John Barnes walked into his first league game against Rangers he had not just lost the dressing room but lost the entire Celtic support.

It was no real surprise when Celtic came out of the game on the back of a comprehensive defeat that left the Ibrox side coasting towards the title.

It is endemic of just where Celtic were at this point in their history that guys like Ian Wright, with his inimitable chicken dance, where involved in this debacle at Ibrox. Paul Lambert, too will wince at the memory after he lost half his teeth in a crunching clash with Jorg Albertz.

That Rangers claimed a penalty for the incident was the club’s fortunes at that point in microcosm.

MARTIN O’NEILL
August 27, 2000
Celtic 6 Rangers

Arguably the most frantic start to derby between the two teams with Celtic roaring into a 3-0 lead by the 20-minute mark.

Bobby Petta was resurgent, Chris Sutton showed the form that would make him such an important figure to Celtic and Stilian Petrov was a player reborn. 

Henrik Larsson’s audacious chip over Stefan Klos still seems extraordinary even when viewed through the lengthy prism of time.

It set the tone for Celtic’s resurgence after more than a decade of being in Rangers’ shadow and was the catalyst for them to claim a domestic Treble that season – the only other Celtic manager to achieve such a feat being Jock Stein. 

GORDON STRACHAN
August 20, 2005
Rangers 3 Celtic 1

Gordon Strachan’s first taste of going up against Rangers ended sourly for the then Hoops manager, with his old mate Alex McLeish enjoying the last laugh with a 3-1 win.

In a bad-tempered affair, Alan Thompson collected his third red card at Ibrox while Neil Lennon was dismissed after a confrontation with whistler Stuart Dougal after the game had ended. “Industrial language” had been used towards the whistler by Lennon, said Strachan after the game.

In truth, the game had run away from Celtic in a dire opening period and Thomson’s dismissal just 23 minutes in had handicapped them.

Rangers had taken a two-goal lead through goals from Dado Prso and Thomas Buffel before Shaun Maloney gave the Hoops a lifeline four minutes from time from the spot. 

Just as they chased a leveller, Nacho Novo converted a penalty at the other end, a decision that infuriated Celtic. 

TONY MOWBRAY
October 4, 2009
Rangers 2 Celtic 1

This was a game early in the season that Rangers really had to win – and they did. Victory for Celtic would have allowed them to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the table in Tony Mowbray’s season at the club.

His subsequent time at the club might have panned out very differently had the outcome of this game gone the other way. 

In what was a tousy, scrappy ugly encounter, Rangers scored two early goals through Kenny Miller. Aiden McGeady had given Celtic hope with a penalty but defensively shambolic, they could not get back into the game. 

Shaun Maloney was upended a number of times – and in the box – by David Weir, with the Celtic player afterwards irked that the Ibrox defender and now assistant manager, went unpenalised for the fouls.

NEIL LENNON
May 4, 2010
Celtic 2 Rangers 1

Named interim manager, this was Neil Lennon’s first league game in the dug-out against Rangers and Celtic came out of it with their first win over the Ibrox side in 18 months. 

Lee Naylor opened the scoring with a free-kick before Kenny Miller had levelled. Marc Antoine Fortune – remember him? – gave Celtic what proved to be the wining goal.

“It probably meant more to me as a manager than a player,” said Lennon afterwards. “I didn’t want a draw, I didn’t want to get beat, I wanted a win.”

It was a dead rubber of a match given that Rangers were out of sight in the league but it did give the Parkhead side an element of confidence that had been lacking after their collapse under Tony Mowbray.