Steve Clarke today revealed he has been given huge backing for his emotional outburst against the sectarian chanting aimed at him at Ibrox.

And the Kilmarnock manager revealed that Graeme Souness tried to make him the first Catholic to sign for Rangers.

And he explained why after his side's game against Celtic last Sunday he didn't mention Kris Boyd being struck by a coin, and that he was the subject of sectarianism.

READ MORE: Sectarian singing in Scottish football: what's next?

Clarke again made the point that anti-Catholic and anti-Protestant views are still held by many in Scotland, in particular in Glasgow and the west coast.

Clarke said: “I’ve had a fantastic reaction to what I said. I’ve had messages from all over, including good messages from Rangers and the SFA and the Scottish government so everybody's speaking well.

"I can't say this was burning in my mind. It's always in your mind when you come from the west coast of Scotland, it's an issue that's there.

"Unfortunately it's started to rear it's ugly head in football again which is what I'm involved in.

"I think things can be done but whether they will be done is far more difficult to address. I'm not a politician or a policeman. I'm a football manager and have worked in football all my life.

"It's not nice. I think there's been advances in the issue of racism. But in recent times there's still occasions it comes out.

"When I did the press (on Sunday at Rugby Park), and there are people in here who'll back me up on this, I didn't know that Kris had been hit by a coin.

"I didn't know that there had been chanting against him.

READ MORE: Rangers chairman Dave King apologises to Steve Clarke

"I then said, when I saw the press again the next day, that the majority had to stand up to the minority... everyone has to take responsibility.

"Rangers didn't sign Catholics when I was at St Mirren as a player. Graeme Souness made an enquiry for me and I remember my manager Alex Smith saying: ‘you can’t do that, son’. He was protecting me as a person."

More to follow...