I missed the passion of Old Firm derby, admits returning Celtic star Shaun Maloney

Aug 31 2008 By Mark Guidi

SHAUN MALONEY knew what he was missing when he watched Celtic claim a memorable 2-1 Old Firm win last season from the Parkhead stand.

And the born-again Bhoy can't wait to get stuck in to Rangers again today after finally returning home from an ill-fated spell at Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old forward said: "I missed being involved in Old Firm games and came up to Glasgow when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored the winner in injury-time last season.

"When I left that game to go back down to Birmingham I was envious about what I was leaving behind.

"This weekend sees a new game and the past counts for nothing. You never want to lose to Rangers as it can take a while to get over it."

The Ibrox men also tried tomove for the Scotland star this summer after Maloney failed to settle in the Midlands.

But Celtic were always his first choice - even though he has nothing but admiration for Walter Smith and his backroom team at Ibrox.

He said: "Walter gave me my Scotland debut in 2005. I came on as a sub against Belarus at Hampden and we lost.

"Walter has since gone to Rangers and helped to change things. He has Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall with him and I have a lot of respect for them."

Maloney also knows Ibrox midfielder Steven Davis from their time together at Villa and is glad Rangers star Carlos Cuellar is now at his old club.

He said: "I spoke to Carlos a couple of times before I left. He will be a good signing for Villa."

In his first spell at Celtic, Maloney won four titles and he hopes victory today will set him up nicely for another.

Shaun said: "The coaches here want you to play football in a certain style.

"I hope it leads to the title as four-in-a-row sounds nice. But it was a close race last term and it will be tight again."