LENNY IN DERBY PLEA

NEIL LENNON is hoping the SPFL delay Celtic’s first head-to-head confrontation with Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox side when the season kicks off on August 1, as CQN pointed out last month.

A Glasgow derby would be due before the turn of the year – the champions won 2-0 in Govan on September 1 in the previous campaign – and the Hoops boss is eager for the contest to be played in front of fans.

Lennon believes it is crucial the special atmosphere of these occasions is retained and the fixture is not played behind closed doors.

The Premiership will commence to empty grounds due to Scottish Government guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Clubs have even struck a deal with Sky TV where supporters can use a virtual season ticket to watch matches.

If Lennon gets his wish, it will mean there will be no meetings with the Ibrox outfit in 2020. The teams were due to meet in Govan on Sunday March 15, just two days after the lockdown was enforced.

The teams had already met three times in the first half of the season with the visitors winning their first game in the east end of Glasgow in nine years when they triumphed 2-1 on December 29.

The holders had already beaten the challengers 1-0 to lift the Betfred League Cup with a strike from Christopher Jullien earlier in the month.

Lennon, speaking to the Sunday Mail, said: “Should the first Old Firm game be pushed back? I think that’s what everyone would want.

“Everyone associated with the game would want it and so would the clubs.

“I’m sure the TV companies would want it, as well.”