Alex Smith has urged fans to lighten up after an afternoon of sustained Anti Irish abuse of Neil Lennon.
As the football authorities sit in silence it seems like anything goes at Ibrox in the hope of the good old days.
Lennon’s gestures after celebrating Hibs win has been dragged to centre stage rather than the content of the abuse that he was getting from thousands of season ticket holders.
Yesterday afternoon Ibrox Company Secretary James Blair issued a statement accusing Lennon of acting the victim and urging the SPFL to take action against the Hibs boss.
Smith developed a thick skin during a lengthy career in management that peeked at Aberdeen and now looks after the interests of managers in Scotland even though it carries little of the clout of their English counterparts.
— CelticBible (@CelticBible) August 14, 2017
Responding to the criticism and abuse of Lennon Smith told The Sun: “People need to get a grip because this is what football’s about — enjoying scoring goals.
“It’s a ridiculous situation when people are looking for the least wee thing to have a grievance about.
“Neil Lennon will have been involved in umpteen games at Ibrox in his career — many of them much bigger games than Saturday’s but he’s gone there with Hibs and seen them, as a newly-promoted club, winning away from home against Rangers.
“Why would he not want to celebrate that?
“I get that there’s an Old Firm element to it because of his past career. That would presumably have been simmering on Saturday but football is theatre.
“I can remember Graeme Souness saying that many years ago. People pay money to watch it and people reacting and showing emotion is part of that.
“We expect all coaches to behave in a proper manner on the sidelines and most of the time they do.
“Managers celebrate goals — it’s almost an automatic reaction if your team scores a goal.
“Of course, they all do it in different ways. But it all stems from elation.
“When a team scores a goal supporters jump up and down. Managers are no different. They’ll rush to the edge of their technical areas. Sometimes I feel as though managers are in a no-win situation.”
So far Hibs, the SFA and the SPFL have failed to comment on the abuse aimed at Lennon on Saturday.