Reducing availability to drive up customer demand has been a marketing trick popular since the days of PT Barnum but when it comes to the Old Firm it is a concept that has gone too far.

Graeme Souness has been based on England’s south coast for some time now and reveals that colleagues, friends and neighbours all still regularly enquire about the Glasgow derby and its notoriously partisan rivalry.

The former Rangers player-manager reckons attending an Old Firm derby remains the ultimate bucket list item for intrigued southerners, drawn towards it like a moth to a flame by ‘the hostility the teams have towards each other’.

‘I’ve been involved in big derbies; Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray, Everton vs Liverpool, Benfica vs Sporting or Porto and this is the biggest,’ says Souness with evident pride.

The problem of late, however, is that this so-called ‘greatest derby in the world’ has become something of a freak show, not unlike the circus paraded around town by the aforementioned Barnum. Boasting about the atmosphere but shutting out visiting fans? It feels like the ultimate oxymoron.

There will be no Celtic supporters inside Ibrox on Sunday for the teams’ Premier Sports Cup quarter-final, a scenario set to be replicated across the city a week later in the league and then in the rest of the intra-city clashes throughout the season.

Old Firm games will have no away fans for the foreseeable future after trouble at Ibrox last year

When announcing the lock-out last week, the SPFL called it a ‘temporary arrangement’, a decision taken on the back of the shameful scenes at Ibrox in March when pitch incursions from both sides and other antisocial and threatening behaviour massively overshadowed Celtic’s Scottish Cup penalty shoot-out victory.

An independent review followed, leading to last month’s SFA announcement forcing both teams to play their next home Scottish Cup tie behind closed doors. Then came the far more wide-reaching SPFL punishment of no away fans at any Glasgow derbies for the remainder of the season.

It is a strident sanction, the equivalent of putting a truculent toddler on the naughty step until they learn to behave, and Souness admits it significantly waters down the derby day spectacle.

‘I was at Ibrox when the supporters invaded the pitch and my first thought was: “This is getting watched throughout the world and what message is this sending to the world about Scottish football?” I was so disappointed because it should be a showpiece game.

‘It should be extremely competitive, with passionate supporters on both sides, but it was ruined. And that image went through my head within minutes of it happening. And I was thinking it would be seen worldwide.

‘I loved playing in hostile atmospheres. I loved going away to places where you were getting booed and you were getting heckled. Having no supporters in the stadium would diminish any game but this game especially.

‘I hope it’s a short-term thing because the Old Firm game is such a spectacle. I’ve got people in England now asking me if I would take them to a game. And I say “of course”. But that might be a wee bit difficult going forward.’

It wasn’t so long ago that Scott Brown was playing in these occasions and loving every minute of the rivalry, on and off the pitch. It was in another tempestuous derby at Ibrox in 2011 that he first pulled off the famous ‘Broony’ celebration – chest puffed out, arms raised defiantly right in front of Rangers’ El Hadji Diouf – creating one of Scottish football’s most iconic images.

Graeme Souness and Scott Brown both feel the famous fixture is damaged by the situation

The former Celtic captain loved the rough and tumble of a derby battle but has no time for the rise of balaclava-wearing miscreants and their hard-man matchday antics.

‘The passion of the game is being pulled away with having no fans there,’ he lamented. ‘I understand why that’s the case because you can’t have people running on the pitch, throwing things and fighting.

‘The Celtic fans will be devastated that they can’t get into this game because of those idiots. Those who come to games wearing balaclavas and carrying knuckle dusters — they just want to cause problems.

‘See if you want to do that, go to a field and fight someone and see how hard you are. They want to hide behind masks and that is both sides, not just Rangers.

‘I feel for the clubs trying to pull these games together. I am sure Rangers want Celtic fans at this fixture and vice versa. The fans want to go to away games and we need to find an even ground where we can start getting fans in that we can trust.’

Brown is all for weeding out the bad eggs with whatever it takes so the derby can eventually be restored to its full glory.

‘Some people are against facial recognition going into stadiums and that is because they want to go fighting afterwards,’ he added. ‘If someone sees my face at a game, I’m not really bothered. There are cameras floating about everywhere anyway.

‘You have your seat and your number and if you come off that and go on the pitch… that’s you barred. See you later. Eventually you get to a situation where you can trust the fans coming to the games.

‘Hopefully we can get back to a situation where there are thousands of away fans back at the games.’

Police and stewards line the pitch at Ibrox to separate warring fans from reaching each other

While Brown is frustrated for the club and the supporters, he believes the Celtic players won’t let the lack of their usual backing influence their performance.

‘Celtic won’t be going there worrying about having no fans,’ he added. ‘They will go there and try to quieten the crowd. And try to get their support to turn as quickly as they can.

‘The players will know what to expect and as soon as the game starts — you can’t hear anything anyway. It’s about pride, passion and enjoyment of the bragging rights.’

Graeme Souness and Scott Brown were promoting Premier Sports’ coverage of the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals including Rangers v Celtic live on Sunday at 12pm on Premier Sports 1