Join thousands of fans who have signed up to our Rangers newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

THE hate-filled letter bomber who targeted Neil Lennon stands smirking at Ibrox – in a picture that will disgust all decent football fans.

Neil McKenzie sent devices containing nails and explosives to ex- Celtic boss Lennon and other prominent Catholics.

On Tuesday, the sick thug was snapped grinning smugly at Rangers ’ Championship clash against Queen of the South.

The appearance of thug McKenzie at Ibrox will no doubt dismay Rangers fans.

The bomber boasted to friends that he was “buzzing” ahead the game.

But the match may well mark his last visit to Ibrox after the Record tipped off club bosses.

One Rangers fan who contacted us said: “This guy thinks he is part of the Rangers revolution but he’s a parasite that most fans will want to see the back of.

“Craig Whyte, Charles Green and most of the last board were hated by the fans and McKenzie thinks he’s one of the good people that have flushed out the bad guys but he’s brought shame on the club.

“He has no idea of his place among Rangers fans. He’s a dangerous bigot that the club can do without.”

McKenzie, 45, and associate Trevor Muirhead, 47, were each jailed for five years in April 2012.

They sent crude devices to Lennon, former MSP Trish Godman and the late QC Paul McBride, as well as the office of an Irish republican group.

McKenzie was freed from jail in June last year after serving two years in prison. Muirhead was freed last September.

The pair were convicted of conspiring to assault.

(Image: PA Wire)

Charges of conspiracy to murder against McKenzie and Muirhead were dropped on the grounds the crude devices would never have gone off.

Their trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard McKenzie, of Saltcoats, was motivated by a vicious hatred of Celtic FC and Irish republicanism.

Police, who bugged a car used by McKenzie, heard the duo bragging about “planting” something outside a police station and “letting the f****r off”.

The first letter bomb sent was sent to Lennon in March 2011 after he was involved in a row with Rangers assistant boss Ally McCoist at an Old Firm match.

Another package, found in a a postbox in Saltcoats, was a hoax device containing 248 nails and putty.

Another parcel for Lennon was found by staff at a Royal Mail sorting office in Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire.

It contained 43 nails, a timer, wires and a bottle containing a chemical substance.

A similar package was sent to the offices of former Labour MSP Goodman in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire. She had earlier been seen on TV wearing a Celtic top.

Another parcel was sent to the HQ of Republican movement Cairde Na hEireann in Glasgow’s Gallowgate – but mail staff were unable to deliver it.

The packages contained what was believed to be the explosive triacetone triperoxide.

A final, nail-filled package addressed to respected QC Paul McBride, who died before the trial ended, was intercepted at a postbox in Kilwinning.

The lawyer had spoken out in defence of Lennon after he had been hit with a Scottish Football Association ban.

Trial judge Lord Turnbull said: “It is incomprehensible that two such family men, in their 40s, would engage in such reckless and serious criminal conduct.”

Tuesday’s game saw the return of Rangers’ legend John Greig, who was exiled from Ibrox over differences with the previous board.

Greig was brought back to the club by new chairman Paul Murray and supremo Dave King as the new top brass try to ring the changes that they believe will bring back glory days.

But McKenzie is unlikely to be allowed to support the Rangers revival.

An Ibrox insider said: “It is unlikely a criminal like this would be allowed to buy tickets for any Rangers match if they were up front about who they are.”

When the Record rang McKenzie to offer a right to reply to our story, the phone was answered by a woman who said he would be unlikely to make any comment. He did not return our call.