Ray Houghton has recalled how he received abuse and death threats from a section of Rangers fans when he chose Liverpool over Ibrox back in the 1987. He warned that fellow Irish Glaswegians Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy could get a similar hostile reception should they turn out for Ireland against Scotland in Glasgow on November 14 - a game that will likely take place at Celtic Park.
Houghton played in Ireland's last competitive game against Scotland in February 1987 - a crucial 0-1 Irish victory in the Euro 88 qualifiers. As a Scottish-born player he recalled getting "a bit of abuse" from a section of the support. When he moved from Oxford United to Liverpool later that year, the abuse took a more serious turn. As the Irish Independent reports, he said "I remember when I ended up going to Liverpool from Oxford, I got hate mail from Rangers fans because there was chat that I was going up there – I was getting death threats, this that and the other."
Both McGeady and McCarthy received abuse from the stands in Scotland when it became known that they had chosen to play for Ireland over Scotland. "It's part of football. Not everyone is going to love you. There's going to be times when things go against you."
"You've just got to be prepared for it. Listen, the game of football is played on the park, it's not played in the stands. "You've got to go out there and do your stuff on the pitch no matter who is booing you.
"I remember when I went up to Hampden, I had family and friends there who I had known for years. I couldn't wait for the game. "Bring it on, that would be my attitude. I'm sure those boys will be exactly the same."
"Poland, Scotland and ourselves, take nothing away from Georgia but their record hasn't been that great over the years although they will be competitive... we know what the others are like... The odds are all right, they're in our favour."
