John Hartson insists he was not bothered by Fashion Sakala branding Celtic "the other mob" ahead of the Viaplay Cup final.
The former Celtic striker wasn't offended by the remark but agreed with fellow pundit Barry Ferguson that the Rangers player should be "more respectful".
For Hartson, words said before the final will not come into the equation when the teams met at Hampden on Sunday.
Speaking on Go Radio, Hartson said: "It did not bother me. People can say what they want, you have a job to do at the end of the day.
"You turn up and you are really focused, you aren't bothered by what the opposition say or think.
READ MORE: Celtic ace Kyogo knocks back Crystal Palace transfer interest
"On the day you need to back yourself and Celtic know they can potentially win this game. Rangers will feel the same way.
"All that sort of stuff on social media, making headlines, it's up to them as they can do what they want. I am not overly bothered by it.
"Barry is right. I think you should be a bit more respectful."
Sakala had said: "Obviously, I know how important the game is when you play the other mob.
"I believe it is all about the badge, and I don't really think about my individual performance, the most important thing is about the win for the fans, and the club and the good performance from the players.
"I think it's a very important game for the club and the fans, and we are going to give everything to fight for the win and to get the trophy. The impact I brought into the last game was good for the squad but I'm looking for more great performances.”
Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, from all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel