Souness is licking his lips...

Last updated : 30 October 2002 By Johnny Jones

The match between Rovers and Celtic is being hyped up as "The Battle of Britain", with the Uefa Cup giving English and Scottish clubs the chance to compete.

The second round of the competition, between Worthington Cup winners Blackburn and Scottish champions Celtic is a chance meeting with each match of its kind going down in folklore.

It will give Martin O’Neills’ Hoops the chance to prove they have what it takes to compete in the Premier League, but they face opposition from a side who have just inflicted Arsenal’s first home defeat this season.

"This is going to be a unique atmosphere for my players - Parkhead is a very special place to play and this is their biggest test to date," said Souness.

"We were confronted by a hostile atmosphere in Bulgaria in the last round, but this will be that multiplied by three."

Souness made a name for himself in Glasgow when he broke Celtics winning spree to claim Rangers’ first league title in nine years when he took over in 1986.

He was also the first Rangers manager to sign a Catholic from Celtic, Mo Johnson, for which he received death threats.

"I've been involved in Old Firm games between Rangers and Celtic and it's the biggest derby in the world," Souness said.

"Both are enormous football clubs, but then there are off-field things which make them rivals as well.

"Although a lot of it is unattractive and unsavoury at times, there's great excitement generated by it and nothing compares," he continued...

"It's my belief that if you've got anything about you, then you'll want to play on the big stage and this is one of the biggest stages of all."