THE feverishness with which the Irish plunder Cheltenham could be made to look like a mild attack of the vapours by the hysteria which will charge the atmosphere over Glasgow tomorrow afternoon.

Any Old Firm collision tends to have passersby wishing they hadn't left home without the tin helmet and the gas mask, but this final showdown at Celtic Park seems to be even more intense than usual.

Neutrality - normally not difficult to find among those who follow the smaller teams - has been a rarity in the last fortnight, since events conspired to give Celtic a chance of foiling Rangers' attempt to equal their great rivals record of nine successive championships.

"How d'ye think it'll go?" has been the commonest conversation opener on the streets and in taverns throughout the city.

There had been an abrupt halt to the great debate on Wednesday, the day after Celtic - a real shock, this - lost 2-0 at Kilmarnock. It was widely assumed that Rangers would beat Dundee United at Ibrox that night and establish a seemingly insurmountable eight point advantage with just seven matches remaining.

United, however, quickened pulses once again by winning 2-0 themselves. The lead stands at five and would be reduced to a nerve shredding two by a Celtic victory. The home team will have all but 7,500 of the 50,000 crowd in their corner.

There is anxiety everywhere and bit seemed to have overtaken Tommy Burns, the Celtic manager, yesterday as he delivered his customary press briefing. The normally garrulous Burns was a little terse, at once relieved at being given another chance by Rangers' defeat and concerned about the character flaw apparent in his own players during the unsuccessful visit to Kilmarnock.

In addition, Burns is concerned about the fitness of Paolo di Canio, the hugely influential, Italian winger whose absence last Tuesday proved to be significant. Di Canio is trying to recover from a hamstring strain sustained during Celtic's 2-0 victory over Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter final nine days ago.

"He is not progressing quite as we had hoped," said Burns, "but he did manage a little training today and we'll see how it goes." In the Italian's absence, Andreas Thom would probably be marginally preferred to Simon Donnelly.

Burns's counterpart, Walter Smith, has been so stricken by misfortune that he went to London yesterday to buy Mark Hateley back from Queen's Park Rangers - who bought him from Ibrox 18 months ago - for £400,000. The big striker was recalled to the colours after Gordon Durie was taken to hospital with suspected appendicitis on Thursday.

Smith's other attackers, Erik Bo Andersen (hairline skull fracture), Seb Rozental (ankle ligaments) and Peter van Vossen (leg injury) are all unavailable.

There is also growing fear at Ibrox over the fitness of Andy Goram, the goalkeeper who has been a huge barrier to Celtic's ambitions in the last two seasons. Goram is nursing a rib injury and he may be replaced by Andy Dibble.

It is the combatants' potential weaknesses, rather than their strengths, that make the contest even more intriguing. Rangers appear in their last three outings to have suffered a damaging loss of self belief. Celtic's seemed to soar after their cup victory and dive at Kilmarnock. On a fraught afternoon, whoever first recovers their nerve should have the edge.