O'Neill hopes for full Celtic allocation at Ibrox
Martin O'Neill is looking forward to the possibility of a larger Celtic fan presence at Ibrox Stadium.
The Celtic manager hopes that his team will receive the full ticket allocation permitted for the upcoming Scottish Cup quarter-final against Rangers, scheduled to take place at Ibrox next month.
According to Scottish Cup regulations, teams are entitled to claim up to 20% of the tickets for away supporters, which at Ibrox amounts to over 10,000 tickets. However, the rules also require agreement from both clubs and the police to designate an away end.
Historically, approximately 7,500 Celtic supporters occupied the Broomloan Stand during Old Firm derbies at Ibrox. This allocation was significantly reduced by Rangers to fewer than 1,000 tickets in 2018.
Since that reduction, the number of away tickets allocated at both Ibrox and Celtic Park has varied between roughly 750 and zero, reflecting a series of reciprocal restrictions between the clubs.
Interim manager O'Neill expressed that it would be
"fantastic"to see a substantial number of Celtic fans return to Govan.
"I think that would be lovely,"he said.
"I've talked to a lot of people down south in my time living down there and they think exactly the same, it would be fantastic to get back.
"I don't know the club stance, but if you take me out of the club at this minute, just being a Celtic supporter, I would want all the tickets we can get - the allocation that's available to us under the rules.
"I assume that would be forthcoming.
"I thought that the Old Firm fixture lost a little bit in the sense that the full allocation was not given, for whatever reason.
"I don't know historically what it was. I've got kind of an idea, but it doesn't really matter.
"But I think that that did lose a little bit of one of the great fixtures in European football, if not the world.
"But at least there's some fans coming back and it makes a bit of a difference.
"To get the full allocation as we did, going to Ibrox and having the side to the left full of Celtic fans, was always gratifying."
Team news and player updates
In other news, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could make his debut for Celtic in their upcoming match against Livingston on Wednesday. Additionally, key defender Kieran Tierney may be fit to play despite sustaining a suspected broken nose.
O'Neill commented on Oxlade-Chamberlain's condition, saying,
"He's looking pretty good,"referring to the former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder who joined Celtic as a free agent last week.
"I haven't picked the squad yet, but there's a possibility of that."
Regarding Tierney, who left the field with a suspected concussion in the recent match against Dundee, O'Neill said,
"Kieran came off with a suspected concussion [against Dundee] - I think he broke a bone in his nose. But he's okay and I think he wants to be available."
