Callum McGregor says “it would have been incredible” for his Celtic side to face Rangers in the League Cup final. The Hoops booked their place in the final of the League Cup after beating Hearts 3-0 on Sunday, October 28 but Rangers won’t be joining them. Steven Gerrard’s men lost 1-0 to Aberdeen in their semi-final clash, ruling out the prospect of an Old Firm final.

Celtic and Rangers last locked horns in the 2011 League Cup final, with Rangers coming out on top that day – 2-1 after extra time. The two sides have met in three SFA Cup (2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18) and two League Cup (2014/15 and 2016/17) semi-finals since, with Celtic coming out on top in every meeting bar their penalty shootout defeat in 2015/16.

Celtic have dominated Old Firm derbies in general of late, beating Rangers in each of their last four meetings in all competitions, and only losing one of their previous 15 head-to-heads. McGregor was keen to renew the rivalry in a game of massive magnitude but is disappointed Rangers weren’t able to progress in their semi-final.

As per the Daily Record, he said: “We’ve not had an Old Firm final for a good few years so it would have been incredible to be involved in that. It’s Aberdeen again and it’s a tough game. We have a good record against them in finals in recent years.

“It’s great to call on that experience. You always remember those results and it can give you and edge going in to the next one. They deserve to be in the final and on their day they are a match for anyone.

“But we’ve been there before and we’ve managed to win leagues and cups along the way, so hopefully we can get another one. We have to prepare properly to arrive at that game with confidence to make sure we get the job done.”

Stats from Transfermarkt.