Chris Sutton has slated Fashion Sakala over his "naive" comments ahead of tomorrow's League Cup final between Rangers and Celtic.
The Ibrox attacker referred to Ange Postecoglou's side as "the other mob" and also claimed he and his Gers teammates are the better team in Glasgow, despite finishing second last season and being nine points behind currently in the title race.
Sutton feels Sakala's digs might come back to bite him when both sides go head-to-head at Hampden Park and he believes that the Zambian could be full of regrets come the full-time whistle.
He told the Daily Record: "Fashion Sakala is a dangerous player and Celtic will need to keep an eye on him at Hampden on Sunday.
"He’s got pace and a bit of unpredictability and he’s already shown in derby encounters. There are also times when his second touch is either a tackle or it ends up in row z and it’s like he doesn’t always know what his feet are doing. The same could be said about his mouth.
"Sakala might have been pandering to the masses in his Viaplay Cup Final press conference but I’m sure there were even sensible Rangers fans who would have groaned at some of his comments. Talking about Rangers being ‘better than Celtic’ when they failed to win the league last season and are nine points behind this year is just embarrassing. Calling Celtic ‘the other mob’ is no big deal really, but it’s all a bit naive from the attacker. It was the same with Mick Beale’s refusal to name their rivals a while back. It’s all just a bit small fry. Listen, I don’t quite buy the old cliché about pinning up stuff to the dressing room wall as motivation.
"I’m not sure Celtic will need any extra motivation to win a cup final, but if they did then this will only fuel the fire. It will all be fine if Rangers lift the trophy and he gets on the scoresheet. He can say, ‘I told you so’ or whatever he wants. But he could also end up looking really silly if it doesn’t go Rangers’ way.
"I’m all for players speaking their minds and they should be encouraged to do so. That doesn’t mean you should be spouting nonsense though. There’s a stark contrast across the city. Ange Postecoglou has spent more than 25 years in the dugout and he has shown his experience in Glasgow by not getting dragged into any silliness.
"You’d think someone at the club or in the dressing room might have warned him before opening his mouth. It wasn’t so long ago we had Graeme Murty’s Rangers team cheering in the dressing room when they were drawn against Celtic in the Scottish Cup. What happened? A few weeks later they were battered. These are things that can come back to haunt you."
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