Philippe Clement reveals the Rangers derby banter he heard 20 years ago after Ibrox hero alerted boss to derby magnitude

Philippe Clement heard the bickering and banter from two Belgian pals long before he found himself front and centre of an Old Firm derby day experience.

Some 20 years on, he’s about to discover what all the fuss was about. Clearly, he can’t wait. Even if yesterday he was trying to play down the importance of Rangers ’ visit to Celtic Park. Clement knows what this fixture means in the city that has been his home for little more than two months. Hell, he knew back in the early 2000s even though he didn’t have any skin in this particular game back then.

“I am curious, to be honest, he said yesterday. “Because everybody has been talking about this game for a long time. A lot of people are saying it is a game like nowhere else in the world with that atmosphere. I am curious about that. When I was with the national team, Thomas Buffel was there and he played with Rangers and Joos Valgaeren was with Celtic. They talked about these games and they had fun also and some quite good duels together also.

“It is a game with a lot of history. It is a big game and a lot of people are watching it. So that is nice for supporters, entertainment, all these things.

“But my love for my job is to enjoy moments with my players and with my staff and with my fans. They will not be in the stadium, but I am sure a lot of people will watch the game outside of the stadium. If we win there will also be a lot of joy in one part of Glasgow. I am doing my job for those things.

“I’ve never been to an Old Firm game because I started in the first team when I was 17 and have never stopped working. Until 37, I played. Then I started directly to be Under-21 coach and coach of the defenders in Brugge. So it was a double job.

“I never in my life had time to