Jamie Mcgrath relives five-game ban over Dunfermline claim

jamie mcgrath revisited the five-game SFA ban that followed his accusation that Dunfermline had “lied down” in May 2003, and he said Hibs will not do the same against Celtic. He also urged Celtic supporters not to obsess over other results, with the title race still tight enough to swing on goal difference again.

Mcgrath and Dunfermline

“There’s only been one team that lay down in Scottish football over the years, and no one will convince me otherwise,” Sutton said. He tied that comment to the incident that earned him a six-game SFA ban after Dunfermline’s seven-goal thriller with Rangers, a punishment later cut to five matches after Martin O’Neill argued his case at a Hampden hearing.

“I copped a six-game SFA ban for making that accusation against Dunfermline in May 2003 after their seven-goal thriller with Rangers, which ended up seeing the title go to Ibrox on goal difference,” he said. Sutton added that Dunfermline were time-wasting when Celtic led Kilmarnock 4-0, and he said he gave referee Kenny Clarke “a piece of his mind” after that game. “It was still a hefty suspension for telling the truth,” he said.

Hibs against Celtic

He then turned to the present and rejected the idea that Hibs will roll over tomorrow. “There is no way they will be lying down,” Sutton said, pointing to David Gray’s side chasing Motherwell in fourth place and a European place of their own. His read on the match is simple: Hibs have their own incentives, not Celtic’s.

Sutton also pushed Celtic fans away from scoreboard watching before Rangers go to Tynecastle on Monday night. He said a draw would probably suit Celtic best and that even a Rangers victory would not necessarily be the worst outcome, but he warned that none of it will matter if Celtic do not handle their own four remaining games. “Win the last four games and forget about favours elsewhere,” he said, with the title still capable of going to goal difference again.