T HE reaction from the Celtic dressing room said it all.
Those who were close enough heard loud cheering when the League Cup semi-final draw was relayed to the Celtic players. Within a few minutes word of that had reached the Rangers camp, whose manager and men responded in kind. And so it began. There will be three months of this. Only the Sagrada Familia has had a longer build-up.
The temptation to think that Celtic were cocky and gleeful about the draw was instinctive and many supporters gloated about the idea of their players cheering a crack at Rangers. In fact their reaction would have had nothing to do with an arrogant presumption of victory.
Any footballer worth his salt wants big games, huge set-pieces, thrilling, unforgettable moments in his career. Most of the current Celtic and Rangers players have never known an Old Firm derby, which is a bit like being a swimming enthusiast who's never been in a pool. Being a footballer in Glasgow has been an incomplete experience for them, until now. That cheer on Saturday night? That was because they had at last been handed entry tickets to one of the biggest shows in British sport.
There would have been excitement and a spontaneous outburst in the Rangers dressing room too, not fear. Ally McCoist has already revealed how happy they were at the news.
Celtic have 18 confirmed fixtures before the semi-final and Rangers 14. The game is 13 weeks away (although, perish the thought, they may be paired together in today's Scottish Cup fourth round draw too, which would mean playing each other at the end of this month).
The build-up will be relentless, inescapable and wearisome. It will reacquaint us with the endless tit-for-tat of subtle digs and goading which becomes the daily diet when Celtic and Rangers co-exist (which essentially they haven't for the past two seasons, when the form and results of one has had no direct relevance to the other).
People will say things which are provocative, daft, controversial or sly. John Guidetti insisting Celtic's semi-final opponents were "going down"? McCoist ruffling his hair with a verbal put-down of his own? Kris Boyd saying today that Celtic players should keep quiet unless they've played in the derby before? These are the opening skirmishes in this marathon.
Celtic will be under incredible pressure to not lose. Rangers beating them as a SPFL Championship team would be an utter disgrace as far as their supporters are concerned. Rangers will be under incredible pressure to not lose heavily. Celtic beat a Premiership opponent 6-0 last midweek. The prospect of something similar would turn Rangers' faces ashen. Celtic are prone to off days when they are vulnerable, but it is inconceivable that they will not play with focus, tempo and urgency in a game this big.
On all the available evidence Rangers are too short of quality to be able to live with them. Still, we'll all have a three-month drum roll for the coming together of two tribes.
The only certain winner of this reunion? Hampden. The national stadium will return to big-time football with Aberdeen-Dundee United and then the Old Firm after being lost to the Commonwealth Games. And those who claim it can't create an atmosphere at games? We won't hear a peep from them that weekend.
And Another Thing . . .
Fans in this country are not used to being allowed "in" and it can still seem a little startling and voyeuristic when a broadcaster like BT Sport suddenly switches its coverage to the "dressing room cam" and shows us footage of a manager, coaches and the players in the inner sanctum. Even without sound the pictures alone are powerful, especially after a match when we're being shown the losers.
When we were allowed into Motherwell's dressing room after the defeat in Perth on Friday night you couldn't take your eyes off the screen in case there was shouting, finger-pointing and the chance of a scrap breaking out.
There was none of that. All we saw was Stuart McCall in the centre of the room, leaning forward on a table and talking to his bedraggled troops. Most of them sat with their heads bowed, avoiding eye contact. That's the familiar body language of any beaten team but Motherwell's spirits are sinking faster than most. Last night they may well have felt as though they had reached rock bottom as McCall chose to resign.
There have been prevailing "stories" this season - Ronny Deila's teething troubles at Celtic, the rise of Hamilton, Hearts eclipsing Rangers so far in the Championship, the Old Firm semi-final - but the sudden decline at Motherwell has not had the attention it has merited. There will be more focus now as the club begins it search for a new manager.
Whoever is appointed will inherit a team which lost its fifth game in a row on Friday. This is the worst start they club have made in the league for 26 years. If Ross County beat Aberdeen tonight and the Fir Park side will go bottom.
There were fewer departures this summer but a tipping point was reached and the team is poorer now. Nearly £800,000 losses have been posted over the past two years, John Boyle is still owed almost £350,000 and take-up in the Well Society has not been good enough to deliver fan ownership. On and off the pitch Motherwell are in a bad, bad way.
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