Celtic midfielder Luke McCowan has responded to questions over whether he believes the Hoops will receive a guard of honour when they walk out at Ibrox on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership champions for 2024/25. Having already won the double in his debut season at the club, McCowan answered the question in the style you would expect from a boyhood Celtic supporter living his dream.

To make his first Scottish Premiership title all the sweeter, he won it at the home of his former club’s city rivals, Dundee United, at Tannadice on Saturday — a welcome return to Tayside for McCowan.

McCowan has had a respectable first season at Celtic and will be expected to kick on further next season. At 27, he is in his footballing prime and will be desperate to live out his best years in the green and white Hoops he grew up supporting as a boy.

However, he doesn’t expect Rangers to give Celtic a guard of honour on Sunday, despite some calls for Barry Ferguson’s side to do so.

He said: (Clyde 1 Superscoreboard), “No, not at all. That is just how it is, isn’t it?

“I don’t know how it would be if it was on the other foot. We’ll never really know, I don’t think.

“We’ll see what happens.”

A superb dig at Rangers from McCowan. We truly will never know, as Celtic are 17 points clear of Rangers with four games to go and the league title is already returning to Celtic Park.

It’s a strong message to Rangers that McCowan is motivated to keep the league title at Celtic Park next season. He’ll be hoping to go from a rotation player — often coming off the bench — to a regular starter at the heart of everything the Hoops do.

That begins for McCowan on Sunday at Ibrox — a real chance to make an impact in the derby. Having started the last time out, he provided an assist for Reo Hatate at Celtic Park, but he’ll know he can still improve further against Barry Ferguson’s side.