Image of the game could be ruined says Rangers manager Steven Gerrard

The Light Blues travel to Hibernian for tonight’s Ladbrokes Premiership clash, less than a week after a bottle was thrown on to the pitch while Celtic winger Scott Sinclair prepared to take a corner in a William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Easter Road.

Partick Thistle are investigating claims of coin-throwing by Hearts fans at Firhill on Monday night and earlier in the season missiles were thrown at Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos during a win against St Mirren in Paisley.

That came days after the then Hibs boss Neil Lennon, now in charge at Celtic, was struck by a coin thrown from the crowd at Hearts during an Edinburgh derby.

“I have said it in my last couple of press conferences and I will echo it again that it is not nice to see,” said Gerrard.

“Scottish football is shown round the world and when you speak about Scottish football and games up here to people they are excited about what they see, the standard, the intensity and they talk about all the positives.

“We don’t want to get in a situation where people are talking about what is coming from the stands and talking about the bad side of the game.

“It is important that we keep trying to have a positive image of the game around the world.

“It is not just about me and what I think, it is about the image around the world.

“In the main, I think we are in a good place. There have been a few isolated incidents that have crept in recently but let’s hope that doesn’t snowball and that type of behaviour continues - then we have got a big problem.

“It is not nice to see from the side.

“I have had some experiences as a player; it is poor behaviour and we need to stamp it out. I have been very clear about the behaviour of all sets of supporters.”