TALKING RANGERS
THE 90 minutes will give Graeme Murty an indication of how far Rangers still have to travel before they are back at the summit of Scottish football.
The build-up has already given him an insight into how far his side have come, though.
In his two previous meetings with Celtic, Murty has been in temporary charge at the most inopportune moments and yet made the most of the chances that have presented themselves. This time it is different, however.
On Sunday, he will lead a Gers side that are in fine form rather than being consistently inconsistent, send out a group of players that are in good spirits rather than deflated and demoralised.
It is a case of confidence and not crisis at Ibrox and that could be reflected on the park as the Light Blues bid for Old Firm victory once again.
Murty said: “This is the game since I’ve come in that there’s been most interest in from south of the border.
“This is the game where people are talking about ‘the game’ as a contest rather than it being one sided.
“It’s not about whether it’ll be six, seven or eight goals like before the first game I did at Parkhead. It was also about the fact we didn’t have a manager.
“But people are now talking about ‘the game,’ which I think is indicative of the journey we’ve been on and the distance we’ve come as a squad and a football club.
“I think we’ve moved in the right direction. The fact this game is generating so much interest shows that in a good light.”
The sense of occasion has never been lost when it comes to the Old Firm but the match has been more of a spectacle than a competition in recent years.
Rangers must reverse the derby form books if they are to emerge victorious this time out but Sunday’s showdown is expected to be a far tighter affair than some of the one-sided encounters of seasons past. So, is the Old Firm game back on the map?
“I hope so,” Murty said. “That would make a nice headline for you, wouldn’t it?
“But it doesn’t need anything from me. This game stands alone in terms of what it means.
“It stands alone in world football and the interest in it, around the globe, will never wane.
“What we have to do is make sure these games are meaningful between now and the end of the season.
“There are going to be three more and we need to make sure that in each and every one of them we’re competitive and I want to put a team out on the football pitch that our fans across t the world can be proud of.”
MURTY has earned plaudits and praise for Rangers’ two performances at Parkhead under his guidance but it is the points that matter most.
The Light Blues are a far diff ferent proposition now than t they were when Murty inherite ed the squad from Mark Warb burton and then Pedro Caixinha. It is not perfect, but there has been progress.
Murty said: “I think we are looking more like I want us to look. I don’t think we have managed to put a complete performance together yet but there are definite attributes that I would desire to be in my team.
“As you may have seen so far, I am never really happy and I always think we can get better and do more. We are looking more like I want us to look.
“I would say this team is still an amalgamation of different philosophies and different transfer windows. I don’t think it would truly be my team until,