STEVE Clarke today revealed he has been given huge backing for his emotional outburst against the sectarian chanting aimed at him at Ibrox.

And the Kilmarnock manager revealed that Graeme Souness tried to make him the first catholic to sign for Rangers.

And he explained why after his side's game against Celtic last Sunday he didn't mention Kris Boyd being struck by a coin, and that he was the subject of sectarianism.

Clarke again made the point that anti-catholic and anti-protestant views are still held by many in Scotland, in particular in Glasgow and the west coast.

Clarke said: “I’ve had a fantastic reaction to what I said. I’ve had messages from all over, including good messages from Rangers and the

"When I did the press (on Sunday at Rugby Park), and there's people in here who'll back me up on this, I didn't know that Kris had been hit by a coin.

"I didn't know that there had been chanting against him.

"I then said, when I saw the press again the next day, that the majority had to stand up to the minority... everyone has to take responsibility.

"Rangers didn't sign catholics when I was at St Mirren as a player. Graeme Souness made an enquiry for me and I remember by manager Alex Smith saying: ‘you can’t do that, son’. He was protecting me as a person."

More to follow...