No matter who is in the dugout for Rangers and Celtic, there's usually a mutual respect between the men in charge.
But the Old Firm derby being what it is, there's always a bit of needle too. Ange Postecoglou and Michael Beale haven't gone at it hammer and tong on the touchline yet but the signs are there that there's a bit of tension simmering beneath the surface. From the Celtic boss' quip about being more concerned with what he's having for dinner than Beale's appointment, to his Rangers counterpart branding the Parkhead boss "lucky" in a pop at their resources, it's fair to say we're unlikely to see these two sitting down for dinner any time soon.
Writing in his Record Sport column, Barry Ferguson revealed that's exactly how he likes it. He said: "I’m all for a bit of cut and thrust where Beale and Postecoglou are concerned. I’ve seen some people react to it by saying Beale would eat himself if he was chocolate. And I’ve seen others try to claim Postecoglou is in danger of losing the plot because he won’t let the ‘lucky man’ quip lie. But what we really have here is two very clever managers who realise their success depends on bringing the other guy down. That’s not something to be criticised."
They're not the first two in the Glasgow dugouts to have a pop at one another, of course. Far from it. Here, Record Sport take a look at some of the other clashes down the years.
Mowbray vs Smith
Poor old Tony Mowbray, eh? The writing was on the wall for the beleaguered Englishman whose fate was sealed by a thrashing at St Mirren on a rainy night in March less than a year after taking the job. But while he only managed a single point from his three derbies as Celtic boss, he managed to get under the skin of opposing boss Walter Smith when he said he could never set his side up like Smith, who was known for his pragmatism.
It proved to be a parting shot from Mowbray as he was sacked just days later but Smith jumped to the defence of his side's setup. He said: “It was Tony who brought it up. The first time it was in the context of setting teams up and what he would like to try to achieve in the longer term. I said that was all right if you have got a longer term.
“He did it the other night again, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s not a bone of contention. It’s not something that would annoy me. If you look at every team throughout Europe, the balance between attack and defending is one of the hardest things to achieve."
Smith vs Lennon
The late, great Smith's final Old Firm derby was one of the less explosive clashes over the years but it wasn't without a controversy. The two sides battled out a 0-0 draw as Rangers went on to win the league by a single point in what would be their final league title for 10 years, but Smith was left raging by a penalty award.
He took a pop at Celtic and Neil Lennon for "asking for decisions" after Allan McGregor saved a spot-kick from Georgios Samaras, claiming it wasn't a foul from Steven Davis on Anthony Stokes. He said: “It’s not a penalty kick. But they got it and Allan McGregor saved it and Celtic will be happy now because their whole campaign this season has been the fact they have been asking for decisions.
"Well, they got one today and Allan McGregor saved it. That’s it. The whole of the season, all we have heard is that Celtic don’t get penalty kicks."
McCoist vs Lennon
One of the enduring images of derbies in the modern era is that of Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon at each other's throats. The March 2011 derby was already guaranteed to go down in infamy after three red cards and 13 bookings but it was the touchline fracas between two of the men in the dugout that really sticks in the memory. Plus the fact the Scottish Government deemed it worthy to get involved. Dear God.
Steven Whittaker, Madjid Bougherra and El-Hadj Diouf were all sent off in the Scottish Cup replay at Celtic Park as the home side fought – literally – to a narrow win. And when McCoist – then Walter Smith's No.2 – pointed the finger at Lennon at the full-time whistle, all hell broke loose.
Then-Celtic coach Alan Thompson later revealed: “I was stood so close that I clearly heard Ally tell Lenny, ‘And don’t you be speaking to my f***ing players like that’, only for Lenny to tell him, 'they’re not your f****** players, they’re Walter’s.
“It’s never been disclosed what was actually said in over a decade now — but I’m telling you that was the spark that lit the fire and hell was hot. Lenny was right because Walter was the gaffer and Ally was only the No 2 at that time. Ally didn’t take well to that. The Rangers boys were all trying to say it was our fault but any team who receives three red cards in one match need to have a long hard look at themselves.”
Kennedy vs Beale
Rangers' win at Parkhead in late December 2019 was seen as one of the first major blows Steven Gerrard landed on Celtic as he chipped away at Lennon and eventually won the title in 2021. But it was the two assistants who stole the show after the fiery clash, where Nikola Katic struck a second-half winner and Alfredo Morelos was sent off in stoppage time.
Beale, then Gerrard's right-hand man, also saw red after the game for a clash with Kennedy - who himself went on to have a spell as Celtic boss - that saw him get into it with the referee. He later explained: “In that moment, I assumed he said something I wouldn’t have liked him to say – and I told him that. You get carried away and I accused the ref of something you can’t do.
“It was just that game, that moment. Just two minutes before, I was so calm. I’m a little bit more mature now for that. It was part of my learning.”
Kennedy meanwhile said at the time. “I’ve had a couple of people ask me about whether there was fighting in the tunnel. There was no such thing. It’s just the usual nonsense. It’s an emotional time. I know Michael very well and I have done since before he came to Rangers. We have spoken in the past. There is no issue with us.
“He was in trouble with the officials, there was a bit of verbals, that’s it, end of. That’s the way it goes sometimes. The Hoops no.2 went on to assert that it “looked worse than it was” and said he’d “quite like to put it to bed.”
Lennon vs Gerrard
The same derby saw Gerrard tear onto the Celtic Park pitch to celebrate what was seen as a substantial victory for Rangers at the time and he later admitted he regretted it – as well as how he treated Lennon. But he said it was down to the "winding up" from the other side of the city.
Speaking after taking the Aston Villa job, he said: "Maybe going into the media, answering a few questions where I thought, 'I shouldn't have said that, why did I let myself get there?' There was once where we beat Celtic at Celtic Park. There had been a lot of mud flying in the media with pundits and ex players, it's not that I go and look for it.
"We won at Celtic Park and I was probably a bit over the top with my celebrations, on the pitch and with Neil Lennon, which I regret. But at the same time it's like a constant wind-up from their side, all the success. I feel it. I'm emotional, I'm not perfect, but it's something I'm working on and getting better at.
"Balance is important. You've got to enjoy the wins because they're hard to get, and that's the good part. But at the same time people are looking to me and that's the reason it's important to be balanced."
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