FORMER Celtic striker Kenny Dalglish insists his old team would be perfectly within their rights to request a postponement of the upcoming derby with Rangers on February 2 - if a host of first-team stars are called up for international duty.

Tom Rogic and Kyogo Furuhashi are expected to be named in the Australia and Japan squads respectively for the upcoming World Cup qualifier at the start of next month, while new Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate could also be in action.

If three or more players are unavailable through international selection, SPFL rules state that a club is entitled to request a postponement - and Scottish football's governing body is obliged to grant it.

Any delayed matches could cause a fixture pile-up later in the season but Dalglish reckons that problem belongs to league chiefs and not Celtic - adding that it is the Parkhead club's prerogative to make sure they face their rivals with the strongest team possible.

"There is a lot of chat and speculation right now about what might, or might not, happen with regards to the Old Firm game scheduled for Wednesday, February 2," Dalglish wrote in his Sunday Post column.

"It’s been suggested Ange Postecoglou may ask for a postponement if three or more of his players are called up to play in World Cup qualifiers around the same time.

"Tom Rogic will be with Australia, and it remains to be seen if Kyogo Furuhashi and any of Celtic’s three new Japanese signings are involved.

"If Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi or Reo Hatate are called up, then SPFL rules state that would allow the Hoops to ask for the game to be called off.

"It is an option open to all clubs.

"If a request is made and the criteria is met, then the governing body’s chief executive, Neil Doncaster, will just have to abide by it.

"With the match having already been postponed due to Covid forcing an early winter break, another cancellation could well cause some serious fixture congestion further down the line.

"But that won’t have entered Celtic’s thinking.

"Their view will be it’s all about the here and now, and they have a duty to their football club, and its supporters, to do what is required to give themselves the best chance of winning a game of football.

"At the end of the day, this season’s Premiership title has a Champions League pot of gold worth £35million riding on it, and all clubs must do what they feel is best suited to them.

"So why should Celtic not ask for a postponement if there is an option available for them to do so?"