I AM writing as a disgruntled Celtic season ticket holder following the Old Firm game and the capitulation in the League title race to a seriously under strength Rangers team.

The comments of Tommy Burns infuriated me. He said he ''felt sorry for the players'' as he viewed them in the tunnel pre-match. I don't think any supporters would feel sorry asking players being paid #2000-#12,000 a week to per form in a crunch game.

He then said the Rangers players ''looked as if they would be shot at dawn if they lost''. What he was witnessing was the determination of the Rangers players to succeed, and it showed.

Then, when referring to the post-match ''huddle'' he said Celtic were ''a class apart in defeat''. Rangers players were right to give Celtic a taste of their own medicine and I agree with Walter Smith that it had been Celtic who had shown insensitivity in their post-cup game ''huddle''. Unless UEFA are handing out more Mickey Mouse awards to Scotland then Tommy won't be taking home any trophies for being ''a class apart in defeat''.

This was the most important week in Celtic's season, two wins would have moved them on top of the League. Instead we had two defeats, and an ineffective attack brought no goals. The Celtic defence has often been a laughing stock this season, but the attack has to be considered in the light of the following.

The Rangers defence, in better fettle during the Champions League, was easily taken apart by foreign attack. Celtic failed to score against Hamburg, while in four Old Firm games Celtic lost four times and scored only one goal.

In this Old Firm game Rangers were missing Gascoigne, McCall, Smith, McInnes, Rosenthal, Bo Anderson, Robertson, Goram and a fit Gough At New Year Rangers were depleted by illness and won in November, despite being very understrength.

The problem for Tommy Burns is simply that his Celtic side are not good enough and with massive finance coming into Rangers, coupled with the return of players from injury, the gap between the sides is likely to increase. Are we to listen to another season of excuses before Rangers march to a new world record of 10 in a row?

Paul Trevisan,

8 Chesterfield Avenue,

Glasgow.

PROUD NAME

I WOULD like to publicly congratulate Walter Smith for what I can only describe as championship form with respect to his response to the criticism of both the staff and proud name of Glasgow Rangers Football Club. (I was on the verge of writing to the chairman, David Murray, requesting that he respond to the media in the strongest way possible for the demeaning of one of the club's proudest days.)

Walter Smith has shown that like all champions he can produce a sustained period of form when it matters. You need only look at the last six days.

1 - The inspired signing of Mark Hateley that instilled in the players and supporters the necessary pre-match boost needed after successive defeats. (Not to mention Hateley's fine contribution to the game itself.)

2 - The game-plan good enough to beat our closest rivals that he set in place.

3 - The rapidness and accuracy of his response to unwarranted criticism when he could have stayed quiet.

Congratulations Mr Smith on hitting this purple patch of form when the club needed it most. As a season ticket holder I was over the moon that the manager's response should echo what I suspect to be that of the majority of the supporters of the club.

Raymond A Hubbard,

26a Allanvale Road,

Prestwick KA9 1QX.

NO EXCUSES

IF, as reported, Tommy Burns's comments regarding Paolo Di Canio's behaviour on Sunday are accurate, I think he deserves criticism. It may be true that Di Canio was intimidated throughout the match, but to suggest that this somehow mitigates his actions is wrong.

The player should be fined by the club, his behaviour is not that expected from any profes sional player. An overabun dance of talent in players like Di Canio and Gascoigne should never be allowed to ex cuse their excesses.

Alastair Scott,

5 Rowanlea Drive,

Giffnock, Glasgow.

WRONG DECISION

HEADBUTTING is a serious matter whatever the situation you're in. . . it's also a criminal offence. It's ridiculous Mark Hateley was accused of this when it was quite obvious from video play-back no such attack took place. The referee's decision was clearly wrong. It must have come as a shock when Mark was punched in the face in the 66th minute by MacNamara, but to be almost simultaneously attacked at 30mph by the Celtic goalkeeper from a running distance of around 20 feet would inspire any of us to commit a similar defensive pose. The suggestion that Mr Hateley's career with Rangers may be affected because of it is incredible.

A further assault involving the Celtic hitman came halfway through the 83rd minute when MacNamara deliberately punched Brian Laudrup on the side of the head seems to have gone unnoticed.

Andy Arnot,

18/6, 200 Lincoln Avenue,

Knightswood, Glasgow.

MISSING OUT

REGARDING your feature on the upsurge of interest in the Old Firm game south of the border, it would seem that the only way of viewing an Old Firm game in the London area is when it is being shown on Sky, and even then it is not guaranteed unless you have your own dish or cable arrangement.

For the recent Scottish Cup game I tried unsuccessfully to find a pub in the city that would show the game. Of the seven that I tried, they were all showing the FC Brann-Liverpool game.

The final league meeting on Sunday was being broadcast on STV in Scotland. Despite the fact that this game would have been beamed all around the world, it was not shown anywhere in the south east. Surely, there could have been some arrangement with one of the other satellite companies such as Eurosport or Setanta to meet the demand south of the border?

Paul McAleese,

79 Fernbrook Road,

Hither Green,

London SE13 5NQ.

JOKE FOOTBALL

I AM a post-grad student studying at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and whilst I did not see any of the Old Firm game, the response from my English ''friends'' was one of disgust and of a continuing feeling towards Scottish football as a joke. Whilst not a supporter of either team, I felt embarrassed to be a Scot that day.

When will these boys start acting their age and get on with trying to play football and improve our status in the rest of Britain, and even Europe, instead of acting like kids. I just wonder at the influence of the mature Gazza in all of this?

Name and address supplied

PASSING INTEREST

I READ Ian Paul's article (Herald, March 18) regarding the Celtic v Rangers confrontation with more than a passing interest. I was lucky enough to obtain tickets for two matches last weekend. On Saturday it was Nottingham Forest v Liverpool at the City ground, Nottingham, this being followed by the Old Firm game in Glasgow on Sunday.

The difference between these two fixtures was that between night and day. Good football was evident throughout the 90 minutes at Nottingham, the respective supporters encouraged by their teams, the goalkeepers were applauded by the opposition fans when they took up their positions. Stan Collymore received a hot reception on his return to the City ground, his act of betrayal in signing for Liverpool still not forgiven or forgotten.

Sunday's events in comparison were negative in the extreme. Little or no good football, religious bigotry prevailed throughout the entire proceedings. Players supposedly setting an example were at times no better than the baying massing around them.

We are about to enter the twenty-first century, but in this small part of the world events which took place more than 300 years ago still seem to dictate the flow of Scottish football.

If the respective club chairmen whose investments are flourishing nicely under such sectarianism are not prepared to stem this tide of hate then, if they have any bottle, the Scottish Football Association most certainly should. Let the two Glasgow giants team up with a European league set-up and see just how big they really are outside our own domestic scene. I am sure the vast majority of Scottish football club supporters would relish the idea of a new football sea son without Celtic and Rangers.

In the meantime the SFA should order them to play their next fixtures (against each other) behind closed doors or at least place a ban on any visiting supporters going to these games.

Alistair C Gibb,

42 Wellmeadow,

Blairgowrie,

Perthshire.