Barry Ferguson has been sharing his memories of the Glasgow Derby with Daily Record readers to prove what a massive Rainjurs guy he really is.
All the usual phrases are dredged up as he pretends that the club founded in 2012 by Sir Charles Green is the same as the one that went into liquidation after Her Majesty refused a CVA.
Visits to Celtic Park tended to be painful for Fergie, getting the run-around from Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon, Stan Petrov and Lubo Moravcik.
As a teenager he lost 5-1 in a BP Youth Cup semi-final at Celtic Park, under Dick Advocaat he managed to lose 5-1 and 6-2 to Celtic with the eight goal thriller proving to be particularly memorable.
After picking up a late red card he went out later that night to the Bothwell Hotel and ended up assisting Strathclyde Police with enquiries.
Welling up with emotion as he went down Memory Lane, Ferguson told Daily Record readers about his pre-match routine from the team bus arriving outside Celtic Park:
I made a conscious decision never to be the first one off, or the last for that matter. I’d just stay in my seat for a minute or two and listen to the noise levels build outside as the doors opened and the Celtic fans started screaming and bawling at anything that moved.
Hatred? You could hear it in their voices. These people despised the sight of us. So I’d get up at the right moment, tell myself to keep a straight face and then walk down the steps. I’d even pause for a split second just to look at their faces and suck it all in as the second my wee head popped out the abuse would crank up to another level.
‘Lovely! I’ve come here to ruin your day.’ That’s what I’d be thinking to myself as I walked through them towards the front doors. In fact, that was ALL I could think about.
I’d get out onto the pitch 45 minutes before kick-off and you could feel the intensity building. I looked into the eyes of the guys screaming at me from the sidelines and I’d think to myself: “This guy wants to jump on here and give me a slap in the face. Fair play to him. But I’ll make sure he’s spewing when this is over.
After losing 6-2 to Celtic in August 2000 Ferguson was spewing into his early bath before his evening out in Bothwell.
