Tax cheat Neil McCann has hit out at the abuse he receives from Celtic fans.
The Dundee boss will come up against the hoops for the first time as a manager tonight as Brendan Rodgers attempts to take his side into the last four of the League Cup.
As a player McCann left Hearts for Rangers (IL) in 1999 with the incentive of a £500,000 ‘tax free’ EBT payment alongside the contract registered with the SFA and SPL.
When his playing days ended he joined Sky Sports where he rarely had a good word to say about Celtic.
In April when Celtic won the title at Tynecastle the Sky Sports pundit predicted that Rodgers would soon be lured to England. Three days later the Irishman signed a new four year contract to stay with the champions.
Anticipating tonight’s match the Dundee boss told The Sun: “I suppose I will get a nice cheery warm welcome from the Celtic fans. It’s been the same since I’ve been playing football.
“Nothing they can say to me I haven’t heard before — and I’ve heard some disgusting, despicable things but nothing they say will bother me in the slightest because all I care about is my team.
“My job is to concentrate on them, it’s not about me.”
Recalling his move to Rangers (IL) in February McCann told the Daily Mail: “I knew what was at stake, growing up in Port Glasgow as a Catholic. But I was ecstatic. I was delighted first of all because I repaid Jim Jefferies (Hearts manager) and the club.
“I said I would pay him back when he signed me. We won the Scottish Cup and I earned £2million for the club in a transfer fee. I remember Jim asking me: “What if Celtic come in for you?” I said: “I want to go to Rangers”. Jim said: “Really?”
Shortly after signing for Rangers (IL) McCann joined shamed former Ibrox director Donald Findlay in stage for an anti-catholic singalong that led to Findlay resigning from the club.
McCann’s EBT arrangement was discussed in detail during the final hearing of the Supreme Court which found in favour of HMRC in July of this year.
