I’M not overly concerned about Rangers giving Celtic a guard of honour, or not, as the case may be. Celtic have won the league. That’s it, end of story. So I wouldn’t be unduly perturbed if I was still involved at Celtic.

If they don’t do it, that’s up to Rangers, and it won’t take any of the tarnish off Celtic’s triumph in the slightest.

Of course, when I won the league as manager of Celtic at Love Street it was the final day of the season, so it wasn’t an issue for me and I never got a guard of honour!

Does it make any difference to the fact that Celtic are league champions? No. So I can’t get too upset about it. In saying that, I would expect Celtic to give Rangers one if the roles were reversed, because Celtic always do things right…

On a more serious note, there is a case for saying that the Old Firm game is a big one for Neil Lennon, and another test along the way that he has to pass in order to get the Celtic job. He has passed every test so far, starting from the opening games against Hearts and Hibs, on to the Aberdeen game in the Scottish Cup semi-final, but there will no doubt be those who will see this game against Rangers as a major hurdle between him and the position.

In my eyes though, he has already proven himself as more than up for the task. And he should get the job.

On Sunday, Rangers will be looking to get another one over their rivals after winning at Ibrox the last time, and even though they went on to lose at Celtic Park, they will be looking for a win here to give them another shot of hope and belief going into next term.

For Celtic, there will b a huge desire to keep Rangers in their place. It may not mean much in terms of the league with the title already sewn up, but it is a game that has always meant so much to the fans, and it always will, no matter what may tangibly be at stake.

One of the reasons that Neil was apparently given the job last time around was that he got a win against Rangers in an Old Firm game at Celtic Park, but the situation now is much different to what it was then.

Nine years back, he was an unproven manager, but now, he has shown exactly what he is all about. And the Celtic board will know what he is about.

He’s won the league, he’s within striking distance of the treble, but I do concede that there will be stock placed in this game by the fans at least. They will want to see their team put up a better fist of it at Ibrox than they did last time around.

The Scottish Cup final is also on the horizon, and Celtic will want to keep the momentum going. There is nothing like a win over Rangers to keep that good feeling about the place.

In terms of the game itself, it is difficult to know what to expect. Celtic might be more relaxed, but they do have that incentive to show that the last time out at Ibrox was just a bad day.

For Rangers, they will be looking for some consolation from a season where they have finished trophy-less, and to have two wins against their rivals under their belt would give them great encouragement ahead of the summer.

Too much is often made about setting markers for the future, but in the case of this game, I think there is a valid argument to say that is what makes it so important. Rangers will be fired up for it, there’s no doubt about that, and Celtic will have to be too.