At one point, during the unrelenting bedlam of derby day at Ibrox on Sunday, Sky’s cameras honed in on a familiar face in the Rangers directors’ box.Having slipped in behind enemy lines, Davie Hay watched on from the posh seats as Brendan Rodgers attempted to become only the third Celtic manager in 40 years to rattle off three wins from the first three Old Firm games of the season.
Hay managed it first in 1984. Twenty years later in 2004, Martin O’Neill passed that same landmark on his way to a league and Scottish Cup double.But just when Rodgers seemed on the brink of doing it too another two decades on, Rabbi Matondo burst Celtic’s cyclical bubble with a stunning strike in injury time to cap one of the most dramatic, high scoring draws in this fixture’s long history.
At that moment, Hay’s mind drifted back to another barnstorming Ibrox encounter in 1986, when Celtic escaped across the city with a 4-4 draw before going on to secure the title on the last day of the season with a famous five goal turkey shoot at St Mirren.Or Albert Kidd day, as it’s been known ever since.
And it’s that historic campaign which Hay believes might actually be being repeated and played out before our very eyes this time around. “I wasn’t even aware of the statistics about winning the first three Old Firm games of the season,” Hay blushed modestly, speaking exclusively to Record Sport . “To be honest, I had no idea Brendan could have become just the third Celtic manager to do it. “But what I do know is that Sunday’s draw reminded me very much of what happened back in 86 when we went to Ibrox for that 4-4 draw.
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