Gerrard confident Rangers can go the distance this time
STEVEN Gerrard is confident his Rangers side can land a devastating title blow on rivals Celtic.
Rangers, having watched their biggest rivals lord it over them with nine successive titles, are now in the ascendancy and will be 19 points clear if they beat Celtic for the third time in a row.
The Liverpool legend said: “I haven’t really focused on Celtic’s form. Our schedule has been very demanding so I haven’t had time to breathe in terms of focusing on any other opposition apart from the ones we’ve faced.
“Since our setback in the Betfred Cup the players have delivered 12 points out of 12, scored nine goals and conceded one, so our reaction and response has been fantastic, so we go into this game confident and in a good place.
“Celtic have obviously won their last couple of games — against Hamilton, Ross County and Dundee United — but they’re playing Rangers and it’s a different challenge for them and a different challenge for us, and it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
And Gerrard says long gone are the days when his squad fear a clash against their arch rivals.
“That’s not to say that the challenge isn’t going to be tough, or that we don’t respect the opposition, or that everything will be straightforward. It’s not like that,” he added.
“These derby games are very challenging, very tough, there’s good players on both sides.
“But for sure, in terms of the confidence and the belief, every single one of my players is looking forward to this fixture. It does feel different than the first one we played against them.”
However, Gerrard knows his side still have to prove they can go the distance.
In both his previous two campaigns in charge, the Ibrox outfit have put themselves in position to challenge at the midway point after securing notable derby wins in December, only to blow up on their return from the winter shutdown.
The Rangers boss has, however, no time for the conspiracy theorists who have spread rumour and innuendo about last season’s January sunshine trip to Dubai. And with the Covid-19 crisis meaning there will be no halting the action this month, Gerrard hopes his team can now power on to the finish line.
He said: “We’ve had success in this fixture in the previous two seasons and haven’t really gone and built on that — that’s there in black and white.
“It’s different this season with no winter break, but the fixtures don’t change. Hopefully we can get a result that continues our rhythm. But people make an awful lot of winter breaks and Dubai, but for me it’s a load of nonsense.
“The reality is we haven’t really been the best version of ourselves from the turn of the new year in both seasons, that’s the reality of it — and using Dubai or the winter break as an excuse is an easy way out for us.
“We’re very much focused on each fixture as and when it comes, and they’re no bigger than this one.”