Old Firm fans braced for white-knuckle finale

Fans of Scottish football giants Celtic and Rangers were steeling their nerves today for the closest run-in to the championship north of the border in recent years.

With games played equal, points equal, and goal difference equal, only goals scored divides the two teams on the last day of the season.

And Rangers just top the Scottish Premier League by virtue of having scored one more goal than their Old Firm rivals.

Today, the sides have to outscore the other in their respective games, which kick off at 3pm.

By teatime, tens of thousands of fans of two of Britain’s biggest football clubs will experience either the agony of defeat or the ecstasy of victory.

BBC Scotland, which is broadcasting the games live on separate channels north of the border, is expecting one of its best-ever audience figures.

Meanwhile, bookies were putting Rangers ahead in the championship stakes, because on paper they face the weakest opposition.

While they take on Dunfermline at their Ibrox home, Celtic travel to Kilmarnock.

With the race so tight, Scottish Premier League officials have a helicopter waiting at Hampden Park to fly the championship trophy to the winning team.

Rangers fans are desperate to take back the championship from their Glasgow counterparts after two years as runners-up to Celtic.

The green and white hoops of Celtic, however, are trying to salvage a trophy from a season which has already involved the highs and lows of expectation and defeat.

Today’s game comes just four days after 50,000 travelling fans witnessed the pain of missing out on Uefa Cup glory in Seville.

Celtic, despite a battling performance, were beaten 3-2 in extra time by Portuguese champions FC Porto.

Martin O’Neill, the Celtic manager, will have to lift his players today for them to take their third league title in a row.

Fans and commentators have said they have never known such a tightly-contested championship.

In England, the Premiership title was decided before the final game of the season.

With emotions set to run high, police have urged fans on both sides to be on their best behaviour, and to stay clear of trouble, before, during and after the matches.

Bars across Glasgow and other parts of Scotland were expected to be packed out with fans watching the games on TV.

It is the first time in five years that the title race has gone down to the wire, and the championship could be settled on goal difference for the first time since Celtic pipped Hearts to the post on goals in 1986.

The outcome of both sides finishing on equal footing after tomorrow’s games could lead to the first ever play-off for the title.