Rangers v Celtic: Guard of honour debate epitomises silly season before derby finale

It's not a guard of honour from Rangers that Celtic should be getting on Sunday, it's an Oscar for Neil Lennon for his 'we'd have done it for them' speech that was delivered with the kind of deadpan sincerity that would have had Robert De Niro on his feet applauding.

These are clubs that have spent the last while in hissy-fit mode, slicing each other's ticket allocation for the derby. But now we're supposed to believe that Lennon was serious when he laid out the fictional scenario of the newly-crowned champions Rangers coming to the home of the dethroned and hurting former champions Celtic, and being graciously clapped on to the field. And pigs will fly.

There's been many laugh-out-loud moments in Scottish football this season, but Lennon's faux chivalry is up there. In the echelons of Scottish footballing bonkerdom 2018-19, the story of police being called in to investigate a claim that Rangers fans had kicked over a three-year-old's sandcastle in Stonehaven harbour before Aberdeen v Rangers in August remains number one, but Lennon has come with a late and impressive run for inclusion in the top 10.

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Rangers are not interested in giving Celtic a guard of honour and Celtic aren't really interested in receiving one. It's all a game, all nonsense and it serves as a reminder that we've now entered silly season - if we ever left it, that is.

The final Old Firm match of the campaign is upon us and on the face of it there isn't a whole lot at stake, only there is. If Rangers can beat Celtic for a second time this season, thereby cutting the gap at the top to six points, that will give them a sense of feelgood. No trophies, but some forward momentum at least.

If they lose, the gap stretches out to 12 - the same as last season. After the summer arrival of Steven Gerrard and a battalion of new players, some at huge cost, another 12-point deficit would be a big disappointment.

Given his past success at the club it might be an odd thing to say that Lennon is trying to prove himself again, but he is. His brief time in the interim role has had him serenaded by the supporters - and roared at by the supporters. There's no question that Celtic people will always love him, but it's still open to question whether they want to go into another long-term relationship with him.

Days like Sunday will inform that. A win in the backyard of their neighbours and many will see him as the man for nine and 10 in a row. A defeat accompanied by wholesale gloating and a sense that maybe, just maybe, Gerrard's Rangers are getting closer and doubts about Lennon rise to the top. A successful Scottish Cup final could change it back in his favour again. The emotions of the Celtic fans re: Lennon are pretty fluid.

Six-pointer for Rangers

The last meeting is still fresh in the mind, not just for the dominance Celtic enjoyed in the first half and the superiority Rangers had in the second, but also for the Scott Brown rope-a-dope routine - and on that day there were many Rangers dopes to rope.

Gerrard said last week that the reason they haven't challenged more seriously for trophies is because of their discipline. It's an understandable point to make. They've had 12 red cards in all competitions this season, five of them for Alfredo Morelos, one of them later rescinded. They've played more than six hours of football with 10 men.

They dropped two points against Aberdeen when Morelos was sent off after 12 minutes and dropped three when the striker walked after 31 minutes of the last Old Firm game. While Morelos, their player of the season, was serving suspensions, Rangers dropped points against Dundee, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone and lost the League Cup semi-final to Aberdeen.

Gerrard's mantra is: 'if only we can keep 11 on the pitch then we can win things'. Fair enough, but the point falls down a little when you look at the games they've drawn and lost despite having a full complement. Lousy discipline has hurt them badly, but it doesn't explain everything.

They're on a nice run of five wins in a row, but they only put that run together when Celtic had all but won the league. When the pressure was on, Rangers couldn't deliver. They're like a racehorse who picks up speed from deep just as the winner crosses the finishing line.

The Rangers manager is already tweaking for next season. The exciting Jake Hastie has been recruited from Motherwell. Jordan Jones is coming in from Kilmarnock. The nomadic Greg Stewart may be joining, too. Gerrard would likely sell a kidney if he could get another year out of Ryan Kent, his loan player from Liverpool and one of the shining lights of his team.

Like last summer, Govan may again reverberate to the sound of a kitchen sink being thrown at their ambition to halt a ninth consecutive league title for Celtic. It didn't work last time. They're fast approaching peak panic mode on that front. If Gerrard hasn't stopped it by this time next year you have to wonder if he'll still be around the year after when the stakes will be at their highest.

Gerrard and Lennon will face off for the last time this season

Squad dilemmas for Celtic

What will Celtic look like then? There are so many questions, not just about the identity of their new manager but also about the make-up of their squad. They're a game away from potentially securing a historic treble treble and yet there's a significant job to be done on that Celtic squad.

It's not just that they have too many players, but too many players not doing enough to earn their keep. There's dead wood that needs to be cleared out by Lennon, or whoever may replace him. A stock-take is required. New momentum and energy is required.

Dedryck Boyata will almost certainly go. Filip Benkovic will return to Leicester. Timo Weah has already left the building. Oliver Burke's loan deal will expire in a few weeks and he'll surely make his exit. Jeremy Toljan is also due to depart. Cristian Gamboa's contract expires in the summer - another one out the door.

Marvin Compper, 34 next month, is still drawing a wage and will do for another season unless something can be arranged. Emilio Izaguirre, 33, has been offered a one-year contract and doesn't know whether to accept it or not. Injury - and a collapse in confidence - has curtailed Jack Hendry. Injury has also laid Nir Bitton low. He's only played eight games all season. Kouassi Eboue, a £3m signing, has made 22 appearances in two-and-a-half seasons. Vakoun Issouf Bayo has played one minute since his January arrival. There's another year to go on the unlucky Daniel Arzani's loan deal.

On top of that, Lewis Morgan is due back from Sunderland, Youssouf Mulumbu is due back from Kilmarnock and, in January, Kundai Benyu is due back from Helsingborgs. Celtic have players coming out their ears and a wage bill that's off the charts in a Scottish context. Less means more sometimes. More quality and less quantity. There are an awful lot of decisions to be made at Celtic just as soon as their treble party is over.

For now, Rangers will try to give them a bloody nose. They might want to avoid losing the plot this time.