I confess to expressing a certain amount of glee when Rangers lost the Uefa Cup final on Wednesday night. There was also a hint of schadenfreude as some Rangers fans disgraced themselves yet again by rioting at a European final.

Neither of these were noble sentiments. But this is normal behaviour in football, isn't it? We are allowed to indulge in a spot of malicious joy at the misfortunes of our rivals, aren't we?

I don't hate Rangers, as some Celtic fans profess to do. I have no time for sectarianism, whatever its source. I have a grudging respect for Rangers FC as an institution and an admiration for players such as John Greig, Ally McCoist, and even wee Ignacio Novo. Except when they score goals against Celtic.

I simply enjoy it when Rangers lose. Barcelona supporters feel much the same about Real Madrid. In Seville, there is an implacability between followers of Real Betis and Sevilla that makes our Old Firm rivalry seem like a meeting of minds.

Fenerbahce versus Galatasary, Liverpool versus Manchester United, Boca Juniors versus River Plate, Cumnock Juniors versus Auchinleck. It's the same the whole world over on derby day when any sense of proportion flies out of the window.

My episode of schadenfreude was short-lived as the full horror of Manchester was revealed on television and websites. The sickening sight of a lone policeman being kicked to the ground and booted mercilessly by the mob will live on in the memory.

The men of violence were indiscriminate in choosing their targets: a police dog, ambulance staff, a passing female motorist; the technicians who were trying to fix that faulty TV screen.

It was a night of many emotions. Anger that Scottish football had been dragged through the mire. Despair that Glasgow's reputation for violence had been reaffirmed in the eyes of the world media.

And a sadness for all those decent Rangers fans who had gone to Manchester in search of their own blue heaven and found themselves in hell.

There was also a slightly uneasy feeling that by pursuing my own antipathy towards Rangers, I was participating, however slightly, in a pact whereby the normal rules of common decency do not apply when it comes to football.

By adopting such a relentless negativity to Rangers, I may be giving a degree of legitimacy to those who hold even more extreme views.

Then came the news that Tommy Burns had died. Debate about bad behaviour on the part of football fans seemed somehow sterile.

With the events on the streets of Manchester, Scottish football had lost face. With the passing of Tommy Burns from cancer at the age of 51, Scottish football had lost one of its finest ambassadors.

The former Celtic player and manager was a thoroughly worthy and honourable citizen. In a tribute, Henrik Larsson said of Burns: "He loved Celtic deeply, but, more than anything, he cared about people."

I cannot imagine that Tommy Burns was the kind of man to entertain any glee or schadenfreude at the misfortunes of Rangers.

If anyone had a reason to harbour a dislike of Glasgow Rangers, it would be Burns. In his time as manager of Celtic, he restored pride and positive attacking football to a club that had been on the brink of disaster due to the mismanagement of a previous regime.

But Burns could not break the stranglehold that Rangers held on the Scottish league back in the 1990s and his term as manager was sadly short.

But the Burns character was notable for a total lack of malice. (A wicked sense of humour at times, mind you.) Tommy played in a charity match at Ibrox with teams composed of veterans. As he went to take a corner, he blew a kiss to the Rangers fans. Here was a Celtic player who could bring a smile to the lips of the Ibrox support.

On another occasion at Ibrox during a full-blooded Old Firm match, he was making his way back to the dug-out after half-time when a young girl wearing a Rangers scarf asked for his autograph. He gave the autograph, accompanied by a hug and a peck on the cheek.

Burns was capable of infinite kindness. I was on the receiving end of his thoughtfulness at an event called the Tommy Burns Supper, held annually in his honour by the students of the Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities Celtic supporters club.

I was given the simple task of proposing a toast to Celtic Football Club and made an erse of it. Instead of hailing the glorious club, I rambled on about the deficiencies of the aforementioned board of directors.

This was received by much growling and protest from the Celtic-minded students who had not come along to hear their beloved club criticised.

My embarrassment was slightly diminished when Tommy Burns himself addressed the students and included the comment: "Mr Shields has made some valid points and he has the right to express his opinions."

Not only did the great man bestow a face-saving imprimatur but he also gave me a lift home to Glasgow.

Tommy's time at Celtic Park was notable for the heartfelt homilies he used to deliver, microphone in hand, from the circle. He would tell us how proud he was of Celtic, his ma who was in the crowd, and his wife and weans. He told us that we would never walk alone.

It was and is impossible not to hold Tommy Burns in the highest regard. In his memory, and trying to capture something of the spirit of the man, I have concluded that I have to change my attitude towards Rangers.

Accentuate the positive about Celtic and spend a lot less time doing down the Gers.

This is not the time to castigate the Ibrox club but a time to give our moral support. Rangers face a major challenge in rooting out the sizeable number of their support who favour bigotry and pursue a "we-are-the-people" arrogance. Many of them, as the events of Manchester show, are happy to indulge in violence.

As PC Mick Regan, the policeman who was kicked to the ground, said: "I know they will say it's a minority but a few thousand is a big minority."

With so much video evidence available, it should not be impossible for the police to track down the perpetrators.

With a bit of luck, less alcohol, and more of the milk of the human kindness, we can get back to enjoying football, as Tommy Burns would want us to.

So, I wish Rangers all the best in the two qualifying rounds for next season's European Champions League. (Yes, that means Celtic will have won the Scottish Premier League.) May the better team win when Rangers and Queen of the South meet in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.

If I have to express a preference as to the destination of the cup final, it would have to be Dumfries. This outcome would add some much-needed romance to Scottish football. And it would protect my investment of a fiver on Queens at 11/2 with my local turf accountant.