JONATHAN GOULD may be 11,000 miles away from Parkhead this weekend ... but admits his heart will be in Glasgow.

The former Celtic goalkeeper will burn the midnight oil at his New Zealand home to keep bang up to date with events in the crucial Old Firm clash on Sunday.

Gould will have to swap the intense experience of playing in the biggest derby in world football for updates from the game on the internet, but he says that after being bitten by the Old Firm bug it's something you can never stay away from.

"It never leaves you," he said. "I might be thousands of miles away from Glasgow nowadays, but there have been times when I've been watching Celtic matches over here with my son, who I'll find sitting next to me wearing the Hoops.

"There are supporters' clubs dotted around and it's the same all over the world. There will be some sort of coverage of the match on the TV as well.

"Unfor- tunately, with the game taking place at Parkhead on Sunday lunchtime, it will mean it will be the early hours over here so I'll probably end up having to check the internet to see how the game is going.

"But it just goes to show you that you can move to the other side of the world and an Old Firm game still means so much to you."

The build-up to any Glasgow derby match always brings memories of his own exper-iences of the unique fixture flooding back to Gould.

During his five-and-a-half year spell at Celtic, the goalkeeper enjoyed many highs and lows which come with success and failure in the renowned fixture.

"I've got some good memories of my Old Firm experiences and some horrific ones as well if I'm being honest," said Gouldy.

"My worst experiences against Rangers came at Ibrox, but I enjoyed more success in those games at Parkhead.

"Out of all the matches I played against Rangers, I'd say three stick out more than any other for me for different reasons.

"The first was when we defeated Rangers 2-0 at our place in the Ne'erday fixture under Wim Jansen at Parkhead. From memory, I don't think Celtic had managed to win the festive fixture for quite some time.

"Craig Burley gave us the lead during the second half and Paul Lambert scored an absolute cracker when he smashed one into the top corner to seal the win for us.

"I think that was a massive game for us because it gave us the belief that we could go on to win the league that season and stop Rangers from making it 10-in-a-row. I need to say that one really stands out.

"However, we lost 2-0 at Ibrox later in the season and the reason I mention this fixture is because it inflicted such a big blow on us at the time.

"There was a feeling of deflation among all our players after the game and we feared we might have just handed the title to Rangers.

"Jonas Thern beat me with an incredible volley and Jorg Albertz smashed one past me in the bottom corner.

"That was a sore one to take but, in the end, we still managed to win the league and as everyone knows it was one of the most important league titles any Celtic team has won.

"The third game that stands out was when we won 6-2 at Parkhead. It was Martin O'Neill's first Old Firm game and, let's face it, those matches don't come around that often do they?"

There were, however, Old Firm experiences during Gould's time that you would have expected him to blank out by now.

But he said: "Some of my worse memories involve going to Ibrox and conceding four goals when we lost 4-2 there under John Barnes.

"We also lost 4-0 there the same season so it goes without saying they were both extremely disappointing occasions to be involved in."

He went on: "I was also at Celtic when Rangers won the league at Parkhead with a 3-0 victory in May, 1999. Fortunately enough for me, I was injured that day and it was Stewart Kerr who played in goal.

"There was also the time when I came in from the cold to replace Rab Douglas for a League Cup semi-final match with Rangers at Hampden Park. As I stood in the tunnel, Martin O'Neill shouted Mind and give Gouldy an early touch - he hasn't played for a while'.

"But it's enjoyable to look back on all those experiences, both good and bad."

For his part in helping Celtic prevent Rangers making it a record 10 titles on the trot during season 1997/98, Gouldy will always be remembered fondly by the Celtic support.

And he said: "It was really special to play a part in that achievement. That was the highlight but playing in all those Old Firm matches was a wonderful thing to be involved in.

"I'm sure it will be the same for all the guys lucky enough to take the field on Sunday." Jonny has Kiwi fruits of labour

JONATHAN GOULD has forged a new career as both manager and goalkeeping coach in New Zealand.

The former Scotland international is in at the helm of Hawke's Bay United - assisted by his dad and former Wales boss Bobby - and is also in charge of putting all the international keepers at every level through their paces.

Most goalkeepers stick to what they know best and go on to become goalkeeping coaches, but Gould loves being a boss.

He said: "I really enjoy being a manager. In the next year to 18 months I'll need to make a decision as to what I want to do long-term as there have been jobs that have come up that I've thought about applying for.

"I enjoy doing the goalkeeping coaching and I've been involved in so many things since I moved here. I'm enjoying life and that's important."