Bertie Auld is looking for the Hoops to go out and entertain this weekend when they face Rangers in the Glasgow Derby, and the Celtic legend is anticipating an exciting 90 minutes.

The Lisbon Lion played in many Glasgow Derbies during his time as a Celt and, while many decades have passed since he was wearing the Hoops, Auld insisted the current crop of players must embody the same mindset as Jock Stein’s teams and take to the pitch confident in their ability and ready to entertain.

“The fans have been missed, they give so much to the players and the players get so much from them,” said Auld in an interview with the official match programme. “They always have everything to play for. All the Celtic fans will be watching them and encouraging them on and they’ll want to deliver for the fans. They’ll want to put on a show and give the fans good performances

'As big Jock used to say, go and entertain! They have the ability to do that, they wouldn’t be at Celtic if they didn’t.'

“This is a game that you must read very quickly and the first quarter of an hour is always so important. Momentum is so important but so are those 50/50 balls. Big Jock would always tell us to win those and that helps you get a hold of the game.

“We had 11 players on the park and they all wanted to entertain the fans. When you walked out there wearing that green and white jersey you felt as if you were 16 feet high, it didn’t matter who you were playing.

“I loved playing in front of the Celtic fans. I played inside-left and outside-left and when I was playing out wide I loved it! You felt as if you were in The Jungle. The fans were right there beside you, encouraging you and applauding you and they’re still the very same to this day.”

Auld pointed out there is plenty of experience in John Kennedy’s Celtic side and he said that will be important for the younger, less experienced players just as it was for him when he broke into the Celtic first-team.

“The players coming through now have some great experienced players around them to guide them just as I did when I came through,” said Auld. “I was so fortunate to play with some incredible players. The Tullys the Collins’ the McPhails, the Mochans, the Peacocks. I could go on and on about the players I encountered in my time.

“They were the first-team pull of players I met when I first came into the first-team and you immediately realised the quality there. You also quickly realised just how hard they worked. You had to work at every part of your game because the players around you were all marvellous. The most important thing was that they all helped each other.”

Bertie Auld: Celts must go out and entertain in Glasgow Derby