WHENEVER I am asked to talk at a function, I tend put my foot in it.

If it comes to a Q&A, then before long I am telling the guests about how special Old Firm games are, what it meant to play in them, the highs, lows and sheer madness of what for me is the biggest derby in football.

Oh, and I mention my goals as well.

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I then end my speech – and this is what gets me into trouble every time – by telling the room that if they ever have the chance, they must get up to Glasgow and go to this incredible game to see what all the fuss is about.

And then, without fail, I am asked to get tickets from about half the room. Will I ever learn? Probably not.

The requests for tickets next season, at least by those who want to be sitting among the Celtic fans, will be met with a polite no when the games are at Ibrox.

It is difficult enough getting my hands on spares when there were 8000 Celtic fans in the Broomloan Road Stand, so finding just one from 800 is going to be nigh-on impossible.

It’s a real shame that from now on there will hardly be any Celtic supporters at Ibrox and, of course, only a few hundred Rangers fans will be allowed in at Parkhead.

This is going to take away from the best and most unique atmosphere in world football.

Rangers have done this, I imagine, because they hope having Ibrox as almost 100 per cent blue and white when Celtic visit will help them to put one over their old friends at long last.

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Steven Gerrard is going to need everything to help him bridge the game and the thinking, perhaps, is slashing Celtic’s allocation for the Old Firm game will give them a better chance of winning one of these fixtures after two years of heartache.

It won’t make a difference. There is no advantage to be had.

Celtic are so far ahead of Rangers that they could play this game anywhere and at anytime and it there would one winner. Rangers might think they are pulling a sly one here but good players, and Celtic have plenty of them, won’t let it affect them.

If that is the reasoning behind this move then it’s not going to work. What it does, alas, is hurt the ordinary supporters who are the lifeblood of our game.

I also liked giving the Rangers fans a little wink when I scored in front of them at Celtic Park.

That was all part of it and now it’s being taken away.

Now, it is entirely up to Rangers what they do.

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Celtic have played tit-for-tat, which did come as much of a surprise and it is a shame because one of the great things about these matches was the amount of away fans, from both clubs, who made so much noise and brought colour and atmosphere.

In fact, I would imagine there will be some who prefer the away games.
So, it’s supporters who are being hurt here and for the rest of us it will take away from the spectacle.

Some of my best memories of being a supporter of Swansea City and the old Vetchfield was standing on a packed North Bank terracing and watching one of our boys scoring and running towards us.

I would be about 12 and always loved it when the likes of Tommy Hutchison and Paul Raynor were two who always ran to us and it was something I did myself when I became a player because I can remember the joy it gave the young me.

The excitement you feel after scoring a goal, especially against Rangers, is impossible to describe and I wanted to share that with the Celtic fans at Ibrox. It won’t be the same and that’s a real shame.

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I am lucky that today I travel the world watching football and when people talk to me – even absolute strangers – they ask me: “What was it like playing against Rangers?”

A big part of why I loved those games was the tribalism. You knew what it meant to the people by how they reacted at the games. And now less people will get to experience that.

I played in 28 Old Firm games. I was very fortunate to do so. I scored eight goals and it should have been 10.

In my first game at Ibrox, I had a goal taken away from me which was clearly onside. And then, infamously, the linesman did me for a goal in the 2003 League Cup final which would have got us to 2-2 and I am absolutely sure we would have gone on to win.

I would be lying to say that when I’m lying in bed at night, the fact I didn’t get to double figures doesn’t bother me.

But most of my memories are good. I enjoyed a lot of success against Rangers.

The games would not have been the same had there only been a small contingent of away fans at the games.

I realise things change, but one thing will stay the same next season. Celtic will continue to dominate Rangers with or without any fans at Ibrox.