Andy Halliday has given his honest take on the post-match celebrations from Rangers players and fans after the cup win over St Johnstone.
The Light Blues kicked off their Premier Sports Cup campaign on Saturday evening with a 2-0 victory over St Johnstone at Hampden.
It wasn’t the prettiest performance again from Rangers but the objective in reaching the quarter-final stage was achieved.
Philippe Clement and his players then approached the Union Bears after full-time to revel in the victory in what was a show of unity between first-team and supporters amid a difficult period for the club.
That’s how the Belgian saw it when explaining the celebrations, which saw both players and fans jumping up and down in unison.
The moment blew up on social media with many – fans of both Rangers and other clubs – saying it was a bit over-the-top and perhaps even a little awkward.
Pundits across the country have also been providing their opinions, the latest being former Rangers star Halliday on Clyde Superscoreboard.
Andy Halliday’s take on Rangers celebrations
The Motherwell midfielder was asked for his take on the matter by host Gordon Duncan after a caller said the celebrations overstepped the mark.
Halliday replied: “I’m very much split in the middle. Listen, if I was a player, I don’t think I would enjoy those type of celebrations after that type of game.
“But I completely understand it, it’s a show of unity and it’s trying to get the players and the club and the fans signing off the same sheet again.
“But it all seemed a wee bit kind of too soon for me, a week after (the Dynamo) Kyiv (defeat) and after a performance that they got. I’m very much in the middle about it.”
Philippe Clement said celebrations were ‘planned’
As mentioned, Philippe Clement had his say on the celebrations and told reporters at his pre-match press conference that it was pre-planned.
He said: “Today, we won 2-0 and it should have been 5-0 or 5-1. That’s the reality so not everything is as bad as some people feel.
“But I understand. If you’re a Rangers fan for your whole life, it’s from the crib. For their whole lives they’ve been at Ibrox and are used to being there with their families together.
“Suddenly, they’ve had to move to another stadium for home games. For a lot of people it’s a big adaptation and a difficult thing.
“So I hope more people can get over that and that they missed being with the team today. I’m sure all the fans who were here today were really happy that they were here.
“It’s about us giving them good football, good results like this everybody can be happy again – at Hampden or Ibrox.
“At the end, that was something that we planned. Because that group of supporters were here on Tuesday also and they stayed after the game.
“They were positive in their support of the players and the club. So it was a normal thing from our side to show that respect towards them.”
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