NEIL Lennon, Ian McCall and Fernando Ricksen walk into a bar.

The start of a rubbish joke and most likely a brilliant night. This might well have happened back in the day. Sadly, those days are gone.

This afternoon, Lennon will say goodbye to an old foe who became a friend in Ricksen. A few days after laying flowers outside Ibrox, to applause from Rangers supporters, the Celtic manager will pay a final tribute to one of his favourite opponents.

Then in the evening, it’s back to work when he welcomes Partick Thistle and McCall to Celtic Park for a Betfred Cup quarter-final.

McCall returns for a second time to a club he once managed. He brings with him Alan Archibald, another former Thistle boss, and now going back as a No2.

McCall, like the two mentioned above, is an interesting character. Flawed, certainly, but aren’t we all. He’s intelligent, funny, wonderfully quotable. He and Lennon get on.

Indeed, those who know Glasgow well could call this is Byres Road derby.

Lennon said: “It’s a potent combination for Partick. I like Ian a lot. I admire him, he is having a very good managerial career. He’s had a renaissance after so many people were writing him off. He’s bounce back brilliantly and has had unbelievable success at Ayr.

“You are seeing his talent again. It must have been a big decision for him, given the current situation of Ayr and Thistle, but he obviously sees huge potential in what Thistle have to offer.

“He knows the environment and his recruitment is good. He’s smart. He can walk to work now! I bump into him in the west end a lot. I always see him in his kit! He enjoys living there. He had a wee soccer school going for a while which my son attended. It was about 18 months ago. Gallagher loved it.”

It will be an emotional day for Lennon and so, so many others.

Ricksen’s fight was both admirable and difficult to watch for those who played with and against them. Sure, he was a pain. Of course he crossed the line. But so did Lennon. It was the time of their lives and that’s why Celtic’s manager has really felt the passing of someone of his era.

Go to Ibrox and you will see many Celtic shirts, a reminder that most who follow these two clubs are good people. Lennon make the point that it’s the good guys we should concentrate on.

He said: “It’s what we should be talking about, it gets overlooked sometimes. There is intense rivalry but there is respect there as well - especially at a time of a desperately tragic situation.

“Fernando was a player of my era and I think it resonates more with me than it would with some of the older generation. Even though I knew he was unwell for a long time, it still comes as a big shock when he has passed on.”

Lennon and Peter Lawwell will never get a better welcome at Ibrox as they did on Monday afternoon. Again, it showed there is more to bring us together than keep us apart. It’s only football.

Asked about the reception, Lennon said: “It was fantastic. I’ve been there previously on the anniversary of the Ibrox disaster and got a fantastic reception then as well. You saw John Greig coming over to Celtic Park when Billy McNeill passed away and the reception he got.

“So, there is that deep-lying respect there. The fans sometimes don’t want to show it - but they really do have it. It’s football at the end of the day - it’s intense and means a lot to us. I’m not too sure about the Bill Shankly quote, more important than life and death, but it’s important to people in Glasgow both socially and culturally. That will never change.

“But we are talking about human beings here as well. Fernando was a brother, a father, a son - and he will be missed. I’ll be at the service on Wednesday in difficult circumstances.”

Back to business and Lennon is attempting to win the League Cup for the first time as a manager. It’s not been a great competition for him.

He’s lost to Rangers and Kilmarnock in the final. Six years ago this week, Morton came to Celtic Park and caused one of the all-time great shocks.

Celtic haven’t lost a cup tie since Ronny Deila’s time and that Old Firm Scottish Cup semi-final defeat. Not once have they been taken to extra time. Only three times have they been behind and it was never for long.

Lennon said: “It would be nice to win it. Listen, you want to win everything, the lads have won the last three and we want to obviously keep the cup run going as far as we can. It would be great to win it, it’s one of the few obstacles to overcome and the first one is on Wednesday.

“The run in the cups has been fantastic, so consistent. There will be decisions and luck that can go against you. We will try to take that element out of the game, we’ll be professional, and while I know it won’t be a full house, we are coming up against an opposition that might get a spark from the new manager and come out and pay with a bit of freedom with nothing to lose.

“We have changed things around a little bit. We let players go and reshaped the squad, so it would be brilliant to win this. The League Cup finishes early and of course it would be great to get the first piece of silverware.

“It’s amazing consistency. I’m sure it has been a bit fraught along the way, which is understandable, because some clubs are looking at this as the best opportunity to win a cup. I played against Celtic, when I was at Hibs, a couple of times in semi-finals. The mentality was very strong. The mentality has to be good for all these games.”

Lennon will make changes for tonight’s game. He revealed: “Craig Gordon will start, it’s important to give him some game time and keep him ticking over. He’s not done a lot wrong really.

“He won’t just be our cup ‘keeper, I’m not going to do that. I’ll just decide game by game.”