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THERE are still 19 days to go before Celtic and Rangers clash in the semi final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden.

Yet you’d think it was tomorrow, judging by the column inches and radio airtime it has already generated.

Which merely proves how much this fixture has been missed.

We are all desperate to see this pair get it on, particularly as it’s shaping up to be a much more competitive contest than last season’s non-event in the last four of the League Cup.

Back then, Rangers had a manager, Kenny McDowall, who didn’t want to be there and a team that always knew it was beaten.

I doubt there has ever been a Rangers team that would have settled for a 2-0 defeat at the hands of their oldest rivals prior to the game but that day at Hampden, they looked like they’d have been happy just not to have been hammered. And many of their fans felt the same way.

(Image: SNS Group)

Meanwhile, plenty of Celtic fans were disappointed that the margin of victory was so slender.

When Leigh Griffiths scored after 10 minutes and Kris Commons added a second after half an hour it really could have gone on to be a cricket score but for some reason Celtic became passive.

The second half was a non-event. The only certainty is that there is no danger of that being the case this time.

It will be a riveting contest. By the time it comes round, Rangers are likely to have won the Championship and a week before the semi final they’ll be huge favourites to win the Petrofac Cup.

That win, if it comes against Peterhead, will be sneered at by those outwith Ibrox but what it will give Mark Warburton’s men is a taste of playing at Hampden.

For the likes of Wes Foderingham, James Tavernier, Rob Kiernan and Harry Forrester the Petrofac Final will be huge.

Celtic, though, have plenty for whom Hampden is a second home, even if some of the recent experiences haven’t been the type they’ll look back on fondly.

Ronny Deila’s men will be favourites and rightly so. Celtic might have wobbled at times this term but they remain the best team in Scotland.

One thing that won’t make a difference is the fact that this is Warburton’s first Old Firm game.

Neil Lennon insisted the Rangers manager will never have experienced anything like it. But any suggestion that the build-up, intensity and hype will cloud the Gers gaffer’s thinking is nonsense.

This, in a way, is a shot to nothing for Warburton. If Rangers win, he’ll never have to buy a drink in one half of Glasgow again. If they lose narrowly, it will still be seen as progress.

Deila doesn’t have that luxury. Celtic have to win. Their European campaign was a disaster and defeat to Rangers would mean only one trophy this season – assuming they see off Aberdeen’s league challenge.

Who’ll come out on top? I have no idea – but last season I knew who’d win. We all did.

WATCH as our top team discuss the Old Firm fixture