BROONY OUT TO RUIN RANGERS’ NEW YEAR
HOOPS skipper Scott Brown has insisted that the Parkhead side are determined to sign off from 2017 in style against Rangers.
Brendan Rodgers’ side host the Ibrox club tomorrow afternoon as they bring the curtain down on a successful domestic calendar year.
And Brown is keen to ensure Celtic go into the winter break with another three points and another win over their rivals.
“Rangers-Celtic games are always good,” he said. “There is so much hype among the fans
and from the press about the game coming up.
“It is more about us just getting the job done and making sure that we are focused on it, making that a priority just before going into 2018.”
Meanwhile, Brown also believes that the Ibrox side have improved since Graeme Murty took charge following the departure of Pedro Caixinha.
Brown and Caixinha had an altercation in the last game between the sides at Ibrox, a game that Celtic won 2-0, and the Celtic captain expects a different Rangers tomorrow.
“They [Rangers] have improved under Graeme [Murty],” said Brown.
“He has done a good job with them. It was obviously a hard job coming in to be caretaker.
“It is a huge game for us. It is at Celtic Park so we have got to make sure that we dominate the game.
“We are all looking forward to it, plus it gives the fans the bragging rights for the next couple of weeks going into the winter break.”
Hearts’ defeat of Celtic earlier this month has encouraged a school of thought that there is a vulnerability about the Parkhead side that can be exploited by playing the way their Champions League opponents did.
Craig Levein said in the aftermath of the game that Hearts had copied Anderlecht’s game plan.
For Brown, though, Celtic can cope with different styles of playing and emerge triumphant.
“Everyone is going to think after the Hearts game that if they press us high up the park and put us under a bit of pressure we will bottle it,” he said.
“But, we have played against so many different teams that play different styles and philosophies that we can manage anything.”