Charlie Mulgrew has revealed that Ian Durrant's refusal to engage with Celtic players during the Tennent's Sixes was the reason behind his explosive celebrations after the Hoops' 5-4 victory over Rangers in the final at the Braehead Arena.
The former Celtic defender admitted he told the Rangers bench 'get it up yous' at full-time, with the behaviour of Ibrox legend Durrant, who served as Barry Ferguson's assistant for the tournament, the driving force.
Durrant 'completely blanked' Celtic players
Speaking on The Breakdown podcast, Mulgrew explained: “I need to talk about the emotions I showed and I need to let people know where it came from. During the whole build-up you’re mingling with all the other teams inside Braehead, it’s a wee communal area.
“Rangers, in particular Ian Durrant, I just felt he wouldn’t engage with anybody. I was talking to Barry Ferguson, obviously I know him, I was also chatting away with Andy Halliday, Kirk Broadfoot, Charlie Adam and it was sound, all good.
“But Durrant wouldn’t even look in your direction. He’d look the opposite way, not engaging with you at all. Even when you passed him in the corner there was no ‘Alright mate how are you doing?’ he completely blanked you.
Mulgrew likens Durrant to 'Karate Kid' villain
“You know what he reminded me of? The bad sensei in Karate Kid. That’s what he was like. Maybe it was part of the game plan, I don’t know.”
Former Rangers midfielder Kevin Thomson expressed surprise, saying: “That’s not like Durranty, he’s normally one for the banter.”
But Mulgrew responded: “Mate, I’ll believe that when I see it. I’ve heard he’s a good guy but he didn’t even engage with any of us.
“When the final whistle went I was straight over to the Rangers bench like ‘Get it up yous’. Especially towards Ian Durrant.
“Did I need to do that? It’s not usually what I’m like but it was the heat of the moment.”
