Rangers are dead and this new club has no quality, insists Celtic legend Tom Boyd

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Fromer Celtic captain Tom Boyd has waded into the bitter Old Firm debate by labelling Rangers a new club.

And the 49-year-old former Scotland skipper insists the Ibrox oufit simply aren't strong enough to pose any threat to the Scottish champions when they meet at Hampden on Sunday.

The two Glasgow sides go head to head in the League Cup semi final for the first time since April 2012, three months before Rangers oldco were liquidated and a newco was subsequently accepted into the fourth-tier of Scottish football.

Fromer Celtic captain Tom Boyd has waded into the bitter Old Firm debate by labelling Rangers a new club

The fixture has caused a re-emergence of the controversial and divisive debate over whether Rangers 'died' three years ago.

At the weekend, Celtic fans paid for a full page advert in a Scottish broadsheet newspaper claiming Rangers were a new club and that the 'Old Firm' derby was dead.

Former Rangers midfielder Alex Rae was one of several ex Ibrox aces to hit back, accusing Celtic fans of 'provocation'. And Parkhead greats Kenny Dalglish and Neil Lennon both insisted Sunday's fixture will be as important as any previous Old Firm derby.

But Boyd, who won three Scottish titles, three League cups and two Scottish cups during his time at Celtic between 1992 and 2003, disagrees as he tipped defeat for Kenny McDowall's men at Hampden.

'I don't know what most people think but my opinion is that they are a new club,' Boyd told the Irish Herald.

After a slow start to the season, Ronny Deila's Celtic are currently top of the Scottish Premiership

'A lot of people believe it's a continuation of the game. I'd imagine that the atmosphere will be very much the same as previously but you can't compare the teams to the way that it was. The new Rangers are a (Scottish) Championship team, previously they had internationalists so the game isn't going to be the same.

'A lot of former players miss the actual match. That fixture was where players were judged and that's something that is no longer there because of the situation with the new Rangers and the problems they find themselves in.

'There are some Celtic supporters who go along with the continuation opinion. They want that game back, it's something that they miss.

'In Scottish football they feel that Celtic need a challenge. That fixture provided it - but I can't see the same with this match on Sunday.'

Last month, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster repeated the view of Lord Nimmo Smith, whose independent report into the Ibrox club's use of the controversial employee benefit trust (EBT) tax scheme insisted Rangers were not a new club.

Kenny McDowall and Rangers, meanwhile are second in the Scottish Championship

Doncaster told the BBC: 'In terms of the question about old club, new club, that was settled very much by the Lord Nimmo Smith commission that was put together by the SPL to look at EBT payments at that time.

'The decision, very clearly from the commission, was that the club is the same, the club continues, albeit it is owned by a new company, but the club is the same. It's the same club, absolutely.'

Off the field, Rangers remain mired in financial uncertainty in 2015. This week the under-fire board accepted a £10million crisis loan from Mike Ashley's Sports Direct empire to keep the lights on.

Boyd is tipping Celtic, inspired by the returning striker Anthony Stokes – who missed Saturday's 1-0 win at Ross County - to add to the Ibrox woes by knocking them out of the cup on Sunday.

He said: 'The Ross County game on Saturday was a little bit sticky but Celtic's recent form has been good in stages with some fantastic football played.

'The passing game that Celtic use could be too much for Rangers but my concern at the moment is that the conversion rate of chances isn't what it should be and that's not just to do with strikers. Hopefully that will change on Sunday.

'Having Anthony Stokes back in the side will be important. Last week against Motherwell he showed his value to the side with two great crosses for the opening goals. I'm sure he'll be looking forward to being involved in this match.'