GERRARD ACCUSES CELTS OF PLAYING ‘VICTIM CARD’

STEVEN GERRARD has accused Celtic of playing the “victim card” following the stormy aftermath of the champions’ 2-1 triumph over his failing Ibrox line-up at Parkhead on Sunday.

The rookie Govan gaffer also made thinly-veiled threats of what the Hoops can expect when they play the fourth and final derby against the perennial also-rans before the end of another flag-clinching campaign – the eighth year in succession the title kings have finished top of the heap.

Gerrard will now understand only too well the feelings of bitter disappointment inflicted upon his predecessors Mark Warburton, Graeme Murty and Pedro Caixinha when Scott Brown accepts the trophy on prize day.

The Liverpool legend, speaking to the Daily Record, said: “Neil Lennon will say what Neil Lennon wants to say. His assistant will say whatever he wants to say.

“If they want to play the victim card, that’s up to them.

“Celtic are entitled to celebrate – the supporters, the club and the individual players. That’s fine. We haven’t got a problem with that at all. We’re on the end of it this time.

“There’s one more Old Firm left we’re looking forward to and we need to make sure the result is different to the one we’ve just been involved in.

ANGRY AFTERMATH…Andy Halliday doesn’t look too pleased with Scott Brown and Scott Bain.

“I’ve got no problem with Celtic celebrating. How will the players react? I know what I’d do.

“We can’t really control what’s going on with other people’s reactions on social media and how they celebrate. All we can do is soak it up, accept it and move on to the next challenge – but remember it.”

As well as losing the game, the Govan men waved farewell to discipline during the feisty encounter when Alfredo Morelos slammed a left elbow into the face of the Celtic captain in a cowardly off-the-ball assault that brought the Colombian hitman his FIFTH red card of the term.

Ryan Kent escaped immediate punishment when the officials astoundingly missed his punch to Brown’s jaw in the immediate aftermath of James Forrest’s winning strike.

However, the on-loan Anfield winger will feel the justice of the SFA in retrospective action, facing at least two games on the sidelines.

And the unruly and unwarranted antics of Andy Halliday directed at Brown at the end of the game brought him a deserved second yellow card and an automatic suspension.

Celtic’s win on Sunday means the Govan outfit have sampled success against the title kings in only one occasion in the past FOURTEEN outings.

The banished Morelos has yet to score against the Parkhead side since his arrival at Ibrox on June 2017.

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