CELTIC youth supremo Tommy McIntyre has predicted the Glasgow Cup final with Rangers will pass off without incident next week.

The meeting between the Celtic and Rangers Under-17 teams at Firhill last year was marred by crowd trouble.

Seats were damaged, flares were thrown onto the pitch and police made several arrests during disturbances.

It was the first time the age-old city rivals had met at any level since the Ibrox club dropped down to the Third Division.

The clubs will meet at Celtic Park on Monday night and McIntyre is confident there will be no repeat of the trouble.

He said: "I'm sure it will be a great spectacle for both teams.

"We are delighted there will be a large crowd. It's important for young players to grow up and deal with that.

"It is a big part of their development to play in front of large crowds, but hopefully it will not be as hostile as it was last year.

"I think we've learned from that. We all want the same thing and that's for it to be a good cup final.

"We want the fans to enjoy it, for it to be a spectacle and for them to go away thinking that there is a lot of good young talent in Scotland."

Rangers youth chief Jimmy Sinclair felt his charges learned a great deal from playing in such a volatile atmosphere at Firhill.

But he too is hopeful the rematch at Celtic Park next week will not be marred by any similar scenes.

He said: "I thought it was fascinating what happened last year, I really did.

"For a younger kids' game I thought the atmosphere was really, really interesting.

"I was interested in how the boys, both sets of boys, coped with it. And they did. And I thought they did brilliantly.

"It might not be, in total, the type of spectacle that we are looking to see at a young boys' game.

"But I thought the best parts of the atmosphere were a great learning curve for them."

Meanwhile, McIntyre has dismissed suggestions that playing at Celtic Park will favour his side.

He said: "It's good we are playing at Celtic Park. But it is only home advantage when you are used to playing there.

"Celtic Park can be quite intimidating, but these games can go either way.

"Old Firm games are special at any level - that will always be the case.

"Irrespective of the age group, it's a special occasion. It's about which team deals best with the occasion and the fans on the night."

Sinclair stressed the Rangers Under-17 side were targeting success.

He said: "There is no reason why Rangers can't match Celtic.

"We know what we have to do and I am hopeful the boys will do it just as the Under-20s have done throughout the year."