FRANCO SMITH is hoping to experience some Hampden derby excitement of his own after tuning in to last weekend’s Old Firm drama.
The Warriors boss revealed his squad followed the penalty shoot-out from their dressing room in Toulon immediately after their Champions Cup clash.
And the South African admits seeing the reaction after Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz missed the decisive spot kick has helped fire him up for Glasgow’s derby with Edinburgh there tomorrow.
The head coach said: “In the changing room last Sunday we watched the shootout.
“So I saw the Rangers guy missing the opportunity and saw the crowd.
“And I could see how engaged they were. So, yeah, hopefully we’ll see a bit of that.
“Our commercial team has been busy. We’ve jazzed Hampden up into a Glasgow home.
“There’s enough banners and posters and stuff being moved to make it look like we own Hampden.
“The Glasgow boys have played in front of full stadiums here.
“Now suddenly there’s going to be a lot more Glasgow supporters than at any one stage before in one building.
“That is something that was missing maybe when we went down to South Africa for the URC final and against Munster in the semi-final.
“Now to see as many as 25,000 to 30,000 people coming out will be a fantastic experience.”
Smith hailed the return of skipper Kyle Steyn to the team after a three-month injury lay-off.
He added: “I’m glad for Kyle and it comes for us at the right time.
“He’s worked really hard, he’s very diligent.
“I must compliment our medical team for getting him back on his feet as well as they did.”
Sean Everitt also took in the Old Firm clash on TV – and also the running battles on the streets of Glasgow beforehand.
The South African doesn’t expect the Edinburgh fans to be as rowdy but hopes they can still make their voices heard.
The Gunners head coach said: “I did watch that game with interest.
“And I also saw the mayhem in Glasgow around that.
“So, I understand that rivalry and also the rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“But hopefully the spectators behave themselves after the game and we can put in a similar performance.
“I think to have sold 25,000 tickets there would have to be a lot of Edinburgh supporters there.
“We’re hoping that they’ll make the trip to Hampden, although I’m sure they’ll be drowned out by the Glasgow supporters.
“But we’ll have some of our supporters there. They do follow us around and we’re very grateful for that.
“You play away from home and you don’t have it all your way. For us it’s about focusing on our job at hand.”
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