LASTING friendships - rather than bitter rivalries - between Old Firm managers, players and fans feature in a new book published by former Scotswoman of the Year Cara Henderson’s crusading charity Nil by Mouth.

Us and Them: New Journeys in Football Rivalry, is dedicated to Mark Scott, the young football fan whose brutal sectarian murder prompted Cara to set up the charity twenty years ago.

Mark was killed on a city street returning home from a football game in 1995.

The book, edited by acclaimed author Daniel Gray, examines sporting tensions in countries as diverse as China and the Channel Islands, and it includes a chapter on Glasgow’s great divide, written by Nil by Mouth director Dave Scott.

Dave explained: “Football rivalry, especially in Glasgow, is a cocktail of pride, passion, pantomime and poison and this book aims to provide some perspective.

“Over the two decades Nil by Mouth has existed, football has never been far from the debate on sectarianism but in the Old Firm chapter we choose to look at some interesting stories of friendship across the divide, both on and off the pitch.

Read more: Glasgow students strike home with anti-bigotry message

“We examine, for example, the relationship between Celtic and Rangers legends Billy McNeill and John Greig as well as allowing supporters the opportunity to tell their own stories.”

Glasgow Times:

He adds: “The loss of football in recent months has had a deep impact on many people because the sport is so deeply entrenched in their lives and in this book we are seeking to look at why the ‘us versus them’ narrative is so compelling and essential to so many people’s identities.

“As a charity we have always believed the vast majority of fans are decent human beings and we hope that when they read ‘Us and Them’ they will recognise what they see.”

Dave’s essay, City Rivals, includes Rangers star Ally McCoist’s recollections following the death of Celtic icon Tommy Burns in 2008.

“When Tommy Burns passed away aged just 51, the Rangers management team of Walter Smith and Ally McCoist arrived at Celtic Park less than 48 hours after defeat in the UEFA Cup final to leave a wreath and spend an hour with Celtic fans and officials,” writes Dave.

Read more: The Gorbals teacher who became known as the 'Father of Argentine football'

“Both were amongst the pallbearers at his funeral. McCoist said that upon hearing the news of Burns death he was ‘absolutely distraught. I don’t mind saying that there was a tear in my eye. I loved Tommy. We all did.’

The book includes contributions from established football writers such as Gray and Andrew Downie, alongside new voices such as Craig Wilkie and Jennifer Jones

Copies of the book, which is available on the charity’s website, are being donated to libraries across west central Scotland.

Funding was provided by the Crerar Trust and all profits will go towards keeping Nil by Mouth’s pioneering Champions for Change education programme free of charge to schools in 2021.